Monday, June 24, 2019
Bubba was one of my first friends here at AuSSLC. We would pop balloons, and laugh and laugh! I squealed every single time the balloon popped, much to Bubba's delight. It didn't matter that I'd just blown the silly thing up, I would squeal. I would blow the balloon up, with his "helping" doing a very good job of purse-lipped breathing that was good for his lungs. After it was big enough and I handed it to Bubba to pop, I would cheer him on until we both heard that sharp retort "POP!" Then we would laugh and laugh and laugh. The folks around us in the home's living room did not always laugh with us, which seemed to make us laugh harder because we had caught folks unawares! Bubba would often see me on the home, and look at me asking "pop?" and if we could we would pop a balloon or two. That first time he asked me that, I knew I had a friend I would cherish.
I am grateful to Bubba for his patience with me as I blew up balloons or sometimes had to skip it to go do urgent things elsewhere. He always seemed to be o.k. with that and was just as welcoming later when I could spend a few silly minutes being mischievous with him.
I will miss his big laugh, his smile when he saw something funny or an opportunity he could exploit. I will miss talking about him in our professional groups where I would promote balloon popping as a "therapy". Laughter IS good medicine!
Thank you to his beautiful family for sharing their Bubba with us!
Teri
