A Sentimental Dad Explains Why He Spends One Night A Year Blowing Up Hundreds Of Balloons By Mouth — And Has No Plans To Ever Stop
This dad just might become father of the year.
uatp2 / Canva; @Drewmarvick / TikTok Thanks to one dad’s soul-stirring birthday tradition he plans every year for his daughter, she’ll never run out of wonderful memories to look back on.
A father blows up hundreds of balloons one night a year for a very wholesome reason.
Drew Marvick, a content creator and a self-proclaimed “awesome dad,” took to TikTok to share a heartwarming tradition he performs once a year on the night before his daughter’s birthday just to see her reaction.
Marvick explains that, for nearly a decade, each year on the night before his daughter’s birthday, he arduously blows up hundreds of balloons by mouth. Afterwards, while his daughter is asleep, he floods the entire hallway leading to her bedroom with a trail of colorful balloons, all awaiting her arrival.
Although Marvick didn’t expect the fun gesture to become a long-standing birthday tradition of nearly 10 years, he says he doesn’t ever plan to stop if it means he can witness the look on his daughter’s face the moment she opens her door.
Photo: @drewmarvick / TikTok
The father ultimately concluded his video on a heartfelt note: “I hope she doesn’t think I’m ever going to stop doing this, because I’m not. Happy birthday, Parker Lemon. Happy birthday.”
Creating memories for children shapes the beliefs they hold as adults.
Much of what we carry with us into adulthood are the memories we’ve had throughout our childhood, but as children, and even early in our infancy, we don’t get to pick which memories will leave a lasting impact in our lives.
Instead, our parents are the force that drives these memories we internalize later on in life, which is why it’s important for parents to build positive experiences with their children. Though every memory is prone to change due to where we're at in life, and especially as we age, as stated by the University of Wollongong Australia, we typically get the gist of the details and how they made us feel.
While no individual memory can be fully responsible for the general upbringing of a person — their personality, their behaviors, and so on — memories may be responsible for many of the core beliefs we hold deep in our hearts. After all, our memories are how we can recall life experiences from the past.
Sadly, not everyone has memories of a happy childhood. Those who don't may have differing beliefs regarding family ties than those who grew up in a relatively stable household.
Though it's not guaranteed what either experience can make of a person in their adult years, they are nonetheless experiences that a child will take with them as they continue to grow.
A mother cheering on her wobbly toddler's first steps; a father trailing in the smell of meat and lit charcoal after grilling on a sunny afternoon; a family arguing over which movie to watch on a Friday night — all of these little moments can add up, eventually creating memories to always look back on, forever frozen in time.
Xiomara Demarchi is a New York-based writer and frequent contributor to YourTango’s news and entertainment team. Keep up with them on Instagram.