The heart balloon in the Wisconsin Capitol stopped floating atop the dome today. It first arrived there with a bunch of its heart balloon friends on Feb. 17.

I know it’s just a little balloon, but seeing it look over the Capitol day in and day out meant a lot to people, myself included when I was able to fly home from Boston to visit on March 12. Its seeming defiance of the laws of physics was a symbol of the dedication every Wisconsinite had in the face of the political assault downstairs; the idea that you could overcome the inevitable, no matter how impossible it seemed or deep in the stone it was etched.

Thankfully, the ideas of the heart balloon need not fall down as it has. We all saw it, clinging to the Capitol dome for four months. Four months! A little helium balloon!

Today, I am sad that the heart balloon is gone. But tomorrow, the people, united, will rise to even greater heights. Thank you, little heart balloon, for inspiring all of us to be more than we think we are, to do more than we think we are able to.