I was sitting on our back porch this morning, coffee in hand, as the dogs ran around the yard.
Let’s call it 6:45am-ish.
A sharp bang sound startled all of us. I thought maybe Keith was in his workshop and had dropped something.
And then I heard it. The unmistakable sound of a hot air balloon firing. Lifting. Whatever it’s called when they shoot flames up into the balloon to give it lift.
It was LOUD. And I knew it was directly above us.
I hopped up from the porch swing and stepped into the yard, looking up.
Holy shit.
Firing. Firing. Firing again.
The dogs looked up and immediately lost their minds. As did I.
This balloon looked like it was barely clearing our house, so I had no idea how it was going to clear the treetops of our backyard.
The next five or six seconds was a chaotic chorus of balloon firing and dogs screaming barking, while I looked around, only to realize my phone was still in the house. Not for photos or video, but to call 911, as I was sure these poor souls were about to be hanging in the trees of our backyard. And obviously there was going to be a fire and I don’t know how quickly those spread, but OMG, I need to get everyone out of the house, and Sydney is still sleeping.
I have a lot of irrational fears.
Heights being near the top of the list.
I don’t like to call it a fear of heights though, because I always love the view.
It’s more a fear of falling. From really really high.
The idea of hot air ballooning is completely dreamy to me.
The reality: I’d be so physically reactive to my fear, that I’m not sure I’d be able to stand. There’s a very real chance I’d pass out. And vomiting would be a given.
Hot air balloons take off from the park across the street from us, and pass over our house, regularly. On a direct line, liftoff is probably a quarter mile from our house.
On the really still mornings, I can even hear them chatting in the basket as they float on by.
But never have I ever seen a balloon this low, above our house.
And never will I ever, get in one of those things, by choice.
They did clear the treetops, btw. But with the amount of firing that it took to make that happen, I have to believe something was a little off with this morning’s flight. Lucky for them, my irrational fears and panic were fully activated, just in case anything went seriously wrong.
