The Yellow Balloon

Since yesterday I've been debating as to whether I wanted to share this story with y'all...
First of all, for those of you that don't know, after we buried Nash in Iowa, we held a memorial service for him down here in Plano. At the conclusion of the service, the congregation went outside and we all said the "Our Father." When the prayer ended, Brad, Tate, and I released a bunch of yellow and white balloons into the sky. And ever since that day, Tate associates balloons with his little brother. When he gets a balloon from a restaurant or something, he asks to send it up to heaven for Nash. It's become sort of a tradition for us.

So I was on my way home from my parents' house yesterday afternoon, listening to the end of the Country Music Countdown. The number one song was Carrie Underwood's "Just a Dream" about a young bride whose fiance' dies at war. Even though the song is about the love between a man and a woman, I always get choked up during the chorus:

Baby, why'd you leave me?
Why'd you have to go?
I was counting on forever, now I'll never know.
I can't even breathe.
It's like I'm looking from a distance
Standing in the background
Everybody's saying, "He's not coming home now."
This can't be happening to me.
This is just a dream.

Yesterday was no different. My eyes began to well up as the chorus started and my mind went straight to thoughts of my sweet little Nash. I made a right turn onto a usually busy highway, and right in front of my car was a bright yellow balloon, quickly floating across the road. It wasn't moving up or down; it just glided straight across my path. I think I gasped and tried to see it in my rearview after it passed by, but I couldn't find it.

I've come to the conclusion that yes, it may have just been a lone balloon that got away from it's owner on a windy afternoon. However, somehow it crossed my path right when I needed to feel close to my son - and that, my friends, was no accident.

Love to y'all,
Tracy