The Greatest Show On Earth!

The last time I remember going to the circus was somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty years ago. I still remember my parents giving me and all of my siblings a choice to see either the circus or “Saturday’s Warrior.” I was still young enough that the circus was still way more cool that a musical. I don't remember many details from that particular circus, but I do remember that it was fun. I especially loved the trapeze artists.

Last night we took the boys to their very first circus. They were terribly eager to go. Daniel and Nathan were so excited that when I told them everyone was going to take a rest in the afternoon since we would be staying up late, neither one complained. Matthew was so excited that the only way I could get him to take a rest in the afternoon was to tell him that the elephants were resting to so they would be ready for us. Unfortunately, the same tactic didn’t help at dinner time and Matthew ate about two bites and then got down and proceeded to prance around and around the table. So I packed fruit snacks and granola bars into my purse knowing I would need to feed him once we got there.

This picture pretty well sums up how the boys felt about the circus:



Daniel kept exclaiming, "How do they DO that?!!" Matthew was leaning so far over the railing that I was afraid he was going to launch himself onto the arena floor. And Nathan was so transfixed that he was oblivious to everything else. The only downer for the evening was when we got out of the car and Nathan turned to us, looking all confused, and asked where the big top was. Then we had to explain that they don't actually use the big tent anymore. Besides that, they really enjoyed themselves.

Daniel’s favorite part was “The dog that jump roped on two legs!” Nathan loved “The whole thing! Especially the magic!” And Matthew’s favorite part was “Ephants! More ephants!! More ephants!!!” There were eleven elephants. He has never seen that many in one place before. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many in one place before.

One nice discovery was that in the nearly three decades since I last saw the circus, they have eliminated the peanuts. When I was a kid you could still buy a paper bag full of roasted peanuts. They fed peanuts to the elephants. Peanuts, peanuts everywhere. That is gone now and as the mother of a kid with a peanut allergy, I was somewhat relieved. It meant Matthew could have the whole circus experience without me being a total spaz case about it. In fact, I was nearly as mesmerized as the kids. I guess the circus really is for kids of all ages.