Remembering to stop and admire the view

This weekend is the Reno Balloon races. An annual even which by chance was the occasion 12 years ago that first brought me into Reno. Leaving my Grandfather's house in Colfax one night and stopping for a few hours sleep at my Aunt's house in Truckee, I was awakened from a peaceful sleep, stumbled to my Uncle's friend's car, and was driven to Reno, where we parked on a hillside, just in time to see the glow show. The glow show begins at 5 a.m. and a formation of four or five balloons light the dark sky in coordination with music, and then at around 5:30 they take off in formation, their beautiful colors only visible against the dark sky as they release gas into the burners to rise in the air. Oh what a beautiful sight, one that has stuck with me through all these years, yet I've never managed to pull my bum out of bed and get down there to see it again. 4 a.m. is quite early, especially on a weekend when I would normally sleep until 8. Last year we almost made it, but it was daylight before we got to the field, this year though, we left the house by 4:45, sat in traffic just a mile from the field, and we were able to get to the field just as the dawn patrol began to light up the sky. There were tears in my eyes, tears of joy for the absolute beauty that I saw before me. We ventured further onto the field, sitting amongst the other balloonists who were preparing their crafts, we went and explored the booths above, the vendors selling beautifully hand made hot air balloon wind chimes, made of stained glass. It was an absolutely amazing experience to catch just a bit of someone belting out America the Beautiful and to find that suddenly this field, which was reportedly filled with up to 50,000 spectators, fall silent as they all listened and then later to watch as those same 50,000 spectators rose from the blankets and chairs they had been seated in for the last 2-3 hours to recognize our National Anthem and watch as planes from the Stead Air Field flew in the missing man formation in tribute to those lost 8 years ago in the 9/11 attacks. The morning grew more amazing as we laid directly under the mass ascension of the 100 or more balloons who were there to participate in the event. The tears kept flowing, because it has been a long and dark summer for me, because I've been sad and grouchy, because I haven't felt well due to neglect of my health. I think we all have a tendency to forget to stop and admire the beauty around us, to catch the sunrise, to show our children something amazing, despite their grouchiness at being pulled out of bed to stumble to the van at a very early hour. Peace has returned to my heart, I actually felt it come back to me today.