Taking the Scenic Route

Carrie, Zane’s first Speech Therapist, gave us tickets for the Shriner’s Circus (Rainbow’s United gives out passes to SN families).  She ended up having enough leftovers for us to take Robert’s family with us.

I have some reservations about circuses in general (treatment of animals, et cetera), but decided that the Shriner’s Circus was “mainstream” enough that I could convince myself that the animals were treated ok (and, honestly, they did seem to be treated well when we were there, so it wasn’t as uncomfortable for me as I was anticipating).  Plus, the Shriners are known for being a major supporter of kids with Special Needs, especially with their Children’s hospitals, and we have a significant tradition of Masons in our family (although Zach is not yet involved with them), which is another draw for us.  At any rate, the experience of “CIRCUS” is one that I wanted the kids, particularly Zane (because he “gets it” a lot better with concrete examples) to have.

Interestingly, I didn’t remember ever having seen a circus.  After talking to my mom, I discovered I had gone to one as a child.  Apparently, she had been so disturbed by the treatment of the animals that she had been distracting me through much of it because it bothered her so much.  I found that interesting, since animal treatment was my primary concern and I didn’t remember the circus.  (so, essentially, I would guess her efforts worked, on more than one level).

Thankfully, this circus seemed to have somewhat boring (to me, but the kids loved them), but humane, animal acts.  The part I really loved were the acrobats.  My biggest memory of circuses was a combination of “CIRCUS OF THE STARS” and the episode of “Little House on the Prairie” where they had a circus (and Laura dressed as a clown), and the “Little House” episode where a kid pretended he was blind but did a high wire act.  (I think it was acted by a guy who ended up being a famous figure skater, IIRC).  So, from my perspective, it was a new experience for me too.

We ended up on the upper tier of the auditorium, which was good for us because it wasn’t overwhelming, but we were in the front seats, right in front of the spotlight, so it was like having a big finger pointing the right direction the whole time.  It was great for the kids through most of the program.   (although the motorcycle guy in the “globe of death” was across the building, but hey, it isn’t like I want my kids imitating that anyway).

Much flapping and joy watching the events unfold.

Zora’s favorite (she is the shape in the foreground), the elephants.

A “Phantom of the Opera” themed Acrobatic act.  I loved it.

Robert’s boys.  (wish I would have gotten as good of picture of my kids, but I loved this one of Robert’s boys)

Both families had a lot of fun.  In anticipation we got a bunch of Circus themed books from the library, and they were even more interested in reading them after the event, which was fabulous for us.  It was great to see all the kids (and the adults) have so much fun.  On our way home we asked the kids what their favorite thing was.  Zora’s immediate response was “WATCHING!”  (as opposed to “waiting”, I would guess).  She then said that the Elephants were her favorite thing.  Zane said “EVERYTHING!” and then listed the entire program, in order (as far as we remembered), to demonstrate that he loved every single aspect of the Circus.  A grand success.

A big thank you to Carrie for thinking of us and giving us the tickets.