“I’m doing great,” Owen says with an impossibly large grin on his face. “You’re always doing great,” the aerial coach Allison marvels. This exchange evokes a giggle from me, but it’s Owen’s perfect response that makes my heart smile: “I know,” he replies, “it’s because I’m at Smirkus.” This perspective perfectly reflects what I love most about Owen. He is the consummate optimist, always grateful for what he has and confident in what’s to come.
Taking a look around, I try to use new eyes to take in my surroundings. What feels like home is something so far from ordinary... circus tents where I spend my days, trailers where I spend my nights, kids with whom I’ll share every bit of my summer. Currently I’m watching three teenagers spin in lyras at least 14 feet off the ground as their peers lift and lower them on a dynamic rigging system. Earlier I clapped in amazement at a brilliant bounce juggling act with a new and astounding finale. It’s unbelievable what these kids are capable of, how hard they work, how much they’re pushed, how talented they are. We ask so much of them, and they do it - always rising to the occasion. How can they work this much, be away from home, miss graduations and dances and final exams, and still be smiling and playing and taking it all in stride? There’s really only one answer: It’s Smirkus.
No comments:
Post a Comment