The spouse Briefs: Balloon festival memories will last a lifetime

When realizing we were going to move to New Mexico one of the first things that my husband got excited about was the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. As a child he had attended a Balloon festival in Colorado Springs and desired greatly to share that experience with his own children. So our very first October weekend in New Mexico we took our little brood and headed to Albuquerque. My little buddies riding in the car could hardly contain their excitement. During the day we wandered the grounds, ate yummy food, watched balloon races and saw pilots laying out balloons. That evening once the Sun had gone down we got to experience one of the most spectacular events of all a Twilight Twinkle Glow, where the balloons stay on the ground and fill their canopies up with air. I felt like an ant walking through a field of large, glowing multi-color flowers. The sound of the burners firing up and the exclamations from all of the kids around gave it a special magic. My kids wanted to run from balloon to balloon, collecting trading cards. They especially liked the ones that were animal shaped. I loved the fact that while walking around I heard so many different languages, and every person speaking sounded happy. It seemed before I could catch my breath at the beauty of the balloons on the ground we had the chance to see an amazing fireworks show to finish off the night.

The next morning as we drove into the parking area before the sun was up the balloons of the dawn patrol were testing the air currents for the day. They looked like luminous pearls floating up and down in the sky. All morning we watched as the large grass field was covered with balloonists prepping for the mass ascension. There were balloons shaped like haunted houses, cows, bottles, cats, fireplaces and so much more. Unlike a football game were you only cheer for one side; we had a chance to cheer on every crew that put a balloon into the sky. Then we watched the phenomenon known as the Albuquerque Box that makes the winds favorable for balloons to return to the field they took off in. As I watched the sky full of myriad colors and soaked in the beauty of it all I couldn't help but think with sadness of the day we would leave New Mexico. Then I looked at my little ones with up turned faces full of the wonder and awe of it all and knew we had given them the gift of magical memories, the kind that last for a lifetime.

Rebecca Adling started life as an Air Force brat and is now enjoying life as a mother raising her own pile of adorable Air Force brats.