I’m happy to report that my 6 year old daughter Charli Rohr seems to be showing interest in ballooning. She has really taken to both crewing and flying, and says she wants to fly (with wings), next to me in the balloon. When I was Charli’s age, I was a tag along crew member and co-pilot on many flights with my father. It warms my heart to see her passion for the family business developing at such a young age. I really hope it sticks with her.
The day after this balloon flight, I let Charli sleep in, in lieu of crewing, because she had a late night and needed her sleep. Bad move by daddy! She was pretty upset that I didn’t wake her up. She made me promise to wake her up for the next balloon ride. This young girl has no issue popping out of bed for a flight early in the morning…I wish she had the same motivation for school!
She is also earning money crewing for the commercial hot air balloon flights, trying to fill her piggy bank this summer. I don’t think she knows quite whether she wants to save it or spend it, but has the goal of filling up the pink piggy at this point. I’m happy she is getting a taste for saving money, but for me it comes secondary to the awesome feeling of having a side-kick along for some skyward adventures, especially a daughter with her daddy’s passionate interest in ballooning!