Two families unite over Christmas balloon
Christmas came for a second time for two twin sisters, after a stranger more than 100km away found a holiday wish list attached to a balloon.
In December, Leticia Flores-Gonzalez had the idea for her two 4-year-olds, Luna and Gianella Gonzalez, to tie their Christmas lists to balloons and set them free above their Kansas home.
With the difficult year behind them, it was their way of reaching Santa Claus.
Flore-Gonzalez told CNN, “It was important doing something special for my girls because of the hard year we had during the coronavirus pandemic. I wanted them to feel like 2020 was another year spent with mom making beautiful memories.”
“It was never with the purpose someone would find the balloon. I thought it would deflate and would just disappear somewhere in a tree nearby.”
But someone with a white beard and a big heart did find one of the balloons.
While hunting deer in Grand Cane, Louisiana in late December, Alvin Bamburg spotted one of the balloons tangled in a tree.
“I saw that balloon and God spoke to me. He said, ‘You need to get this, and, second of all, you need to get the trash out of the woods,’” Bamburg told CNN.
“When I got it I noticed a folded yellow piece of paper sealed with a red star, and it was a Christmas list from a girl named Luna.”
What had Luna asked Santa for? The list included candy, a Spider Man ball, a Frozen doll, a My Little Pony toy, and a puppy.
Though the holidays kept Bamburg and his wife, Lee Ann Leopard Bamburg, busy, the list stayed at the back of their minds.
Once the holiday season had wound down, Bamburg shared his discovery with family and friends via a Facebook post in early January.
Bamburg wrote, “Would love to know when it was launched. Looks like it traveled over 600 miles. Feel free to share.”
So many people shared the post that it was eventually found by Flores-Gonzalez.
“When we found out someone actually found Luna’s balloon, we were just in shock,” she said.
“We couldn’t believe how kind people were; we were overwhelmed with love. That’s what really mattered.”
After receiving requests to share Gianella’s list, Flores-Gonzalez did, and both girls received gifts from Bamburg’s family, friends, coworkers, and even old schoolmates.
Following months of communication, the two families finally met in-person. The Bamburgs drove six hours to meet Flores-Gonzalez and the twins and gave them one final present.
“We had texted, talked, and FaceTimed before we even met, and it was clear we had a connection,” Bamburg said.
“When we met, it was just like meeting family.”
It was during the meeting that Bamburg gave the girls a dachshund puppy, fulfilling the last of Luna’s Christmas wishes. Overjoyed, the girls quickly named the pup Max.
Over a meal, the families laughed and bonded over shared values.
“To us, it isn’t the amount of gifts or the value that the girls are receiving,” Flores-Gonzalez said.
“It’s the love they received. It meant the world to us we see their smiles, and the lifelong friendship we have made with Alvin and his wife.”
The families will continue meeting too, with their next reunion scheduled for the end of May.
In the meantime, Bamburg hopes to inspire others to take a break and makes someone else’s day a little brighter.
“There’s so much sadness in the world right now, the world is a freaking mess,” he said. “It’s really not hard to spread kindness, and you can never underestimate the impact even just a smile will have on someone’s day.”
Image credits: CNN