There were clowns! There was a trapeze act! They had elephants! There were tigers, lions and death-defying stunts! Gaudy, over-priced souvenirs and snacks galore! We went, we saw, we did it all!!
*Although I was wondering: if it is the Royal London Circus, how come everyone who came onto the mike had American accents??!?!
Gosh, it brought back so many happy childhood memories. Despite the rain and traffic jam, my spirits refused to be dampened. Fortunately, the rain pattered off to a very slight drizzle by the time we arrived, and as Mum so wonderfully got us A-section tickets, we ended up sitting in the front row! That itself was enough to make me go pop-eyed! And it was only the first two minutes in the Big Tent!!
It was .. magical. There was this indescribable feeling of awe as I sat there looking around. There was all the riggings, the pretty stars painted on the inside of the tent, the rows upon rows of excited children ... I couldn't stop chattering! (Yes, I get extremely vocal when excited .. and/or when I'm sleepy. ;op) With my popcorn in one hand and and cotton candy making my face and fingers all sticky, I was brought back 10 years to my last circus. It made me feel like a child again, with the excitement only a child could feel at being in a circus. It was a wonderful feeling, not remembering the troubles of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow. There was only the here and now .. and the here and now was the circus!!
After a few minutes, the lights dimmed. The anticipation in the tent was palpable. Then, the ringleader finally came out .. and the show BEGAN! The program was nothing anyone over the age of 9 hadn't seen before countless times on TV, but oh, how I ooh-ed and aaah-ed and laughed and cheered and gasped at all the right moments! How Nadia and I yelled right back to the clown all those childish responses, how we laughed from our bellies when he tripped over his own shoes, eventhough it was obviously on purpose and we'd seen that tired old act a million times before. We squealed in fright when the lion and tigers roared too suddenly, and we watched gaped-jaw as the trapeze troupe and acrobats twisted, tumbled and somersaulted through the air in gravity-defying turns. We ran with Fareed to pet the little Shetland pony when he was brought out during the intermission, and we were probably the only adults to oh-so-ungracefully clamber atop the elephant for photos. And all the while, we wore those colourful, silly jester hats they were hawking as souvenirs outside.
It was wonderful to be a child again, to enjoy the immense pleasures such simple things can give you. It was all about letting go of adult inhibitions, forgetting for that one moment that you're expected to act a certain way, and think the serious thoughts of a grown-up. It was all about relishing every second of that excitement recalled from childhood. It was not caring whether other adults thought you were being silly, it was being - for that one moment - carefree.
I pitied them, those adults who thought they had to be adults at the circus. They watched the show with glazed eyes, with acid comments of the tired programs, of the dust, of the shabbiness of the clown. They sat in their seats with arms folded across their chests, with stony expressions, waiting to be impressed. They weren't. From start to finish, nothing impressed them. They didn't clap, they didn't sing along, they didn't laugh .. they didn't even smile. They sneered at Nadia's and my gaudy jester hats, they whispered and pointed at us when we went up to take our picture with the elephant. They gave us sidelong glances and hitched their shoulders up at us whenever we whooped with laughter or gasped in awe. They mocked our childlike enthusiasm and laughed at our simple-minded enjoyment. I know because they were sitting right beside me .. and behind me too. And I pitied them.
I pitied them because they didn't know how to enjoy the simpler things. I pitied them because they didn't know that sometimes it is okay to be childish. Most of all, I pitied them because they couldn't laugh for the sake of laughing, that their laughter had to come at someone else's expense. Lolz .. I saw them laughing at me. I don't mind. I was having too much fun to care! I hope they enjoyed it. ;o) There are times when we have to be adults, and there are times when we ought to be children again. Knowing when to be what is the key.
I had a great day. Things haven't exactly been so rosy and sunny in my life for quite a while now, but today was a wonderful day.
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