My friend Juli asked me to paint a story her daughter, Lucinda, told when she was 3, and I was struck by both the beauty of the story and the beauty of Juli's desire to hold on to it. One day when Lucinda saw her neighbor across the street lose his balloon, her heart was sad for him...but moments later a spark of hope across her face: "I know what will happen! A bird will catch the balloon with it's beak and fly it back to my friend!"

What a lovely mixture of empathy, hope and creativity in that sweet little one. And what a thoughtful mom to take note, to record the wonder of it like first steps that will eventually be skips, imagination that will one day give her little girl wings to help bring redemption in her own way...of lost balloons and hopes and dignity...