We didn’t think about where we were going to release the balloons. If we had only moved to the other end of the deck, we would have been okay.
3. Write a blog post inspired by the word: rise.
Labor Day would have been my sister’s 40th birthday. Since I had gone on a cruise for my birthday, I decided I needed to go somewhere to celebrate her birthday.
Tanya was such a homebody. She went places but it was usually with my mom or myself. So the destination was going to need to be somewhere she had traveled with us before. I finally decided I would go to Pittsburgh, PA.
My family lives there which is a positive because I got to see them. Plus my friend Molly was going to travel down from Rochester, NY so she could have a weekend away and to give me support.
While I was there, I wanted to go to Phipps Conservatory, the Overlook, and my grandparents and father’s graves while I was there. I also wanted to release balloons for my sister’s birthday.
On Friday night before I left I got the balloons. They were stuffed into my trunk. By Monday morning, a few of them looked as though someone had beat them up. I did not know if they would rise into the sky when we released them.
Everyone gathered on my aunt’s deck and sang “Happy Birthday” to her before they released the balloons. Molly’s balloon quickly rose into the air while my aunt, cousin, and her daughters’ balloons landed in the tree. They got stuck. We all wondered if they would rise any further into the sky or remain stationary in the tree.
After the other balloons were released, I released my balloon. As the balloon began to rise, the sun shined on me. Tanya was happy that we were celebrating her birthday.
I watched my balloon rise higher into the sky.
My family and Molly went into the house after watching one of the balloons get unstuck from the tree.
After a while, the other balloons slowly became unstuck and rose into the sky.
I’ll always remember releasing the balloons on Tanya’s 40th birthday.
Have a magical day,
Traci
P.S. Â Spend time with the ones you love. Â You never know when you won’t be able to see them again.
 
Believe in the Magic Traci Diary 
It sounds like she enjoyed the celebration of her life. I know it’s hard, but I hope it helped to celebrate her special day.
Sad she couldn’t be there with you, but her spirit was, and probably thought it was great!
40th birthday….so young. I’m glad you take the time to celebrate her.
She was a week shy of turning 39 when she died suddenly.
That was a special thing to do.