A Lot of Hot Air

The balloon fiesta started this weekend.  Despite the fact that I have lived most of my life in this city, and that many of my fellow residents consider the fiesta a nuisance, it remains a highlight for me each and every year.  There is absolutely nothing like New Mexico in the autumn - the smell of roasting green chile accompanying a distinct chill in the air.  The kaleidoscope colors of hot air balloons dancing in the intensely blue sky.  

My trip to the fiesta yesterday morning had a restorative effect.  Walking onto the balloon field in the pre-dawn darkness; the sound of the propane burners firing up the dawn patrol balloons like enormous, glowing, heat-emitting night lights; clutching my breakfast burrito and hot chocolate surrounded by my family - I was reminded of everything good in my life.

And when dawn broke over the nearby Sandia mountains, bathing the field and balloons in a sunny glow, awakening their true colors, my heart smiled.  I've rediscovered my hope.