The Circus

It comes once a year and if you have kids, you know it is THE place to be. It is, of course, the Shrine Circus. Aberdeen hosted theirs last week and thankfully we were all healthy and ready to go by Sunday. Papa Butter and Grandma Shirley joined us again this year, which made it even more special.
The kids LOVED it, which is all that matters to me. I don't go to the circus to be entertained myself, although the elephants never fail to impress me. They are always awesome to see. It really is unfortunate that my parents never paid $3 to let me have an elephant ride when they had the chance--now it is $10! My children will have to be deprived of elephant rides, too, I am sure. If they want to spend $20 some day on their own kids, that will be up to them.
I have many circus memories as a child--my favorite probably when they sold balloons at intermission. I had a fascination with shiny mylar balloons and that was always my treat of choice. I noticed when we returned with Landen four years ago (after a several year hiatus between junior high and having my own child) that the Shriners had discontinued selling the balloons. I can think of several explanations why, but I was still a little disappointed to not see the red-hatted men emerging from behind the bleachers with their huge bunches of balloons.
No matter--now everything lights up or flashes! Since our boys are old enough to be influenced by all the flashing souvenirs, David and I like to spoil them once in awhile, and since they get in free anyway, we let them pick one thing they wanted as a souvenir. Landen picked a snow cone in a flashing cup and Nathan decided he wanted a sword. I have watched kids with those light up swords my whole life, but I never thought I would own one! Now I do--I am such a lucky mom!
But, back to the circus itself--for those couple hours, something magical happened. All three kids were mesmerized by the animals, performers, and clowns. The boys traded their souvenirs from time to time without arguing. I was reminded why we return year after year. Sure, the acts are almost always the same, but for our children it is new every year. Their smiles, laughing, and looks of awe are my favorite part. When the lights go down and their eyes get big, I get almost as excited as them to see what the first act will be. Everything went so smoothly, the ring master's announcement at the end of the circus caught me by surprise.
And, when she ended with the customary "May all your days be circus days," I wanted to answer, "You have no idea."