The Big Top and Boys Dreams

Yesterday, I received some tickets to the circus, so last night I brought the boys to see it.  I remember my own parents bringing me to the circus when I was little and the magic that was stirred in my own heart.  I remembered dreaming about becoming the woman who flew high in the sky with her dashing partner catching her by the finger tips on the trapeze, stunning audiences with my amazing feats on the high wire or being the woman in the glamorous costume that trained the big cats or rode the elephants.

Much has changed since the circus of my youth.  The animal activists and probably liability laws have ensured that there were no big cats or even elephants.  The two animal acts were dogs and primates.  There was no trapeze, although there was a man and woman who hung from about 20 feet up and spun their bodies on a mock trapeze and there was the spiral of death where a man walked outside a hampster-treadmill type contraption blindfolded while his beautiful partner was safe on the inside of the balance wheel.

These major changes in the circus, however, did not dampen the dreams of my children as they viewed the many acts.  Joey wanted to try and do all of the stunt acts.  When he saw the 9 year old little boy performing with his parents on the unicycle, he promptly asked if I could marry a man that was in the circus so we could be a family act and perform like this little boy's family did.  I informed him that we already very much lived in a circus with the antics the boys did on a daily basis and that while being paid for people to observe those antics sounded attractive to me, I didn't think that anyone would pay to see me in any sort of skimpy costume like that mom wore.  As a matter of fact, I think they would run away in fear, so I would not have a job for very long!

Danny had a little different dream.  He was fascinated by the clowns.  My gregarious 4 year old stood and watched them at every opportunity he could.  By the end, in his usual charming way, he had introduced himself to every clown he could find and was trying to entertain them.  He shouted out, "Hey clown!  Look at me!  I can stand on one foot!!"  They all laughed at him, joked with him and smiled.  Eventually, clowns were starting to point out my little man to other clowns.   I overheard "Sluggah" telling "Trash Can" that Danny was a cool kid who would one day take his job.  What a proud mommy moment!  I can just imagine talking with my friends some day when I'm 80 and the conversation going something like this:

Friend:  "So, how's your youngest?"
Me:  "He's doing really well, traveling a lot though, so I rarely see him."
Friend:  "What business is he in, again?"
Me:  "Entertainment."
Friend: "Oh, is he an actor or something?"
Me: "No, he's a clown."
Friend:  "He always was a funny kid!"

You get the picture.  Not that there's anything wrong with being a clown as they make millions of people happy a year, but it's just not what I am dreaming about for my son's future profession.  At the same time, I am dreaming that he finds something that he can make a living at that makes him happy.  For Danny, entertaining others DEFINITELY makes him happy, so if that's what he wants to do with his life, I will support it 100%.

At bedtime last night, Danny couldn't stop talking about the clowns and Joey did aerial acrobatics getting into bed.  They both went to sleep dreaming about what they want to do with their lives when the grow up.  They want excitement, to make people smile and most importantly, to be happy.  When you're 4 and 7, you see the circus as a job that would make you and others happy.

As a mom, my job makes me extremely happy.  I love the hugs, the cuddles, helping the boys learn right from wrong, helping them discover their dreams and just being there for them.  Being a mom was always my biggest dream and for several years, I never thought that would come true.  My dream has now come true and part of that dream is to help my kids discover their dreams.

My advice to my boys:  DREAM BIG!!!!

Joey, if you want to stun people with acrobatic, aerial feats, do it!!  (But be safe).

Danny, if you want to entertain and make people laugh, do it!!  (But not in class).

Dream, dream, dream.  Never stop dreaming and never, ever give up.  Sometimes we have what look like insurmountable road blocks on our path to achieve our dreams, but once we get past those, we look back and see that they were just tiny, tiny bumps in the path.  Trust in God to get you over those bumps, focus on His will for your life, try your hardest always and you WILL accomplish your dreams.