Today was Balloon Day, and even though last year I vowed not to go back until H was sturdy enough to do the whole thing without a stroller, and on mass transit, I did not stick to that plan. I love it too much.

Most years I’ve been teaching a half day on Balloon Day, and I leave straight from school. I don’t get into the city until 3:30 or 4 (the balloons open at 3). It’s already starting to get crowded by then, so this year I took full advantage of my work-at-home schedule to head in after lunch. We were in line to get in by 2:45, I’ve never been there before it opens. It was great. We waited in the line for a while, which was hard for H, but it was really, really manageable and pleasant once we got in. Crowded, but you could still move around easily with a stroller. Perfect.

We did drive, I found a garage close to the action. We did bring the stroller, and Miss H was in it almost the entire time. She does not love the noise, especially the big speakers playing Christmas tunes. This is still true. But she did ooh and aah at the balloons, and we had the best day. It was worth the traffic getting home to have this tradition continue.

As she gets older, I’ll let her make more of the decisions about whether or not to go to the balloon inflation. But this year she was so excited for it. She woke us up to tell us we were going into The City today, and on the drive she kept pointing out the skyline to me through the window. She was thrilled. And that is just the best.

I’m not hosting Thanksgiving this year, first time in 4 years. We’re going to my mom’s. So, no recipes and no prep. I’m not going to post anything tomorrow, I’m just going to enjoy it. So Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!