Our little Grasshopper has been learning about the transient nature of existence and the importance of non-attachment to material things from balloons.
They're fun. We love getting them. We love playing with them. If it's from the haircut place, the grocery store, Nordstrom's shoe department, or swiped from a realtor's open house sign on the side of the road, we love bringing them home for their mood-salvaging powers. But in the morning, they're not bouncing off the ceiling anymore, and within a couple of days, they're kicking along the floor, ready for the trash. It's just the way balloons are, honey; we learn to accept it, and we like them anyway. Don't get so obsessed over a toy.
That works great, unless your balloon has been coated with Hi-Float, an aqueous adhesive solution that someone likened to the adhesive on a postage stamp. It dries to form a [nearly] impermeable barrier inside the balloon, which keeps them floating up to 25 times longer than normal. It's the kind of thing professional ballooners know all about, but that I'd never heard of.
The kid got such a balloon at a friend's birthday party last week, and it's still going strong, bobbing around the house, practically straining to break through the ceiling. It's also provoked a little crisis of Zen faith, which I don't think has really sunk in for her yet; she's having too much fun with The Balloon.
Hi-Float Balloon Treatment [hi-float.com]
Way more detail than I can process: Making Balloons Last FAQ [balloonhq.com]
[image: inflatablesdemexico.com]
