"Can I be your lead balloon?"

Ever wanted to pull someone back down to earth?

Ever felt like someone's gonna get their heart broken because their head's in the clouds?

Ever thought that someone has no idea what they're getting themselves into?

Ever wanted to be someone's lead balloon?

I sure have.

Maybe it's because I feel like it's my duty to help my good girl friends out when their hearts are so tangled up, when their heads are full of imaginings, and when their eyes only see the wonderful aspects of some guy.

I guess I did actually learn something from a book I read last summer. Check out the full blog post here. But this book made me realize that one of the most destructive thing I can do for a dear friend is encourage her fantasies, ask her "is he cute?" before anything else, and get all giggly when she tells me "see, there's this guy..." Ok, ok... it's fun to do. It's kind of payback for when those friends have done that to us, but seriously... is that in any way helpful?

Ok, before ya'll decide I'm crazy, let me explain that I mean it might be good to be a lead balloon for a friend when she's in the very beginning of a relationship. Then transition to an advisory/prayer warrior role while she's in the relationship. Then her biggest cheerleader when she makes that final commitment of marriage. But  sometimes us girls boost up an imagination, a crush, or an unhealthy/ungodly relationship just because we feel like its her choice and we should just be there for her whatever she decides. (on a very rabbit trail soapbox, that very same line of thinking can be super destructive when it comes to a friend/significant other considering an abortion)

I have a good friend who has been interested in a guy for a few months, and recently she believes that he's showing her a bit more attention and perhaps likes her. I remember when another girl and I felt that he liked us both at some point last year because of Facebook posts he'd left on our walls, verses he'd emailed/texted to us, and how he treated us like sisters. I tried to tell my friend that he'd acted similarly to us last year, but she didn't really seem to listen. And every time this friend gets an invite for a movie night, game night, or dinner at the dining hall, she feels like he's even more interested in her.

I just tell her, "I'm glad you're happy, and he is a very nice guy. But he hasn't told you explicitly that he like you--and until he does, you could be setting yourself up for heartache. And if you keep reciprocating, you're not pushing him to actually ever tell you his intentions... he needs to step out on a limb and ask you out. Right now it's all in limbo."

And I see the other girls around her fall into one of two categories. Like me, they're concerned about how over the moon she is, with very little confirmation on his end. Or they're the typical, "OMG, that's so cool! What exactly did he say? Has he called you back? What are you gonna wear?"

I don't know... I'm tired of being on her bad side and getting the "I was happy for you, why can't you just be happy for me" response. But I really hate picking up the pieces of my friends' hearts when guys (good and bad) break them. And unless I'm her lead balloon, who else will?

Actually, it might not be a bad thing to be known as "Katie Farr, L.B."

Any other girls out there willing to be a lead balloon for their good friends?