Sometime this past Friday, my husband heard that the Barnum and Bailey Circus was in the Big Town: Boston! Not too far from us. It reminded us that when our triplets {J, O and S} were born, Barnum and Bailey sent them 3 free passes, good for life. Lots of companies sent us great stuff, because they were triplets, I guess. So upon realizing half of us could get in for free, we really got excited and started making plans for Sunday after Mass, to take the kids and surprise them.
Once we found out the show times that day, and it was a firm plan, something else occurred to us that made our hearts drop, and put a little damper on our excitement: We thought about how there was probably going to be peanut debris everywhere at the center, where the circus would be held. That’s a PROBLEM, in all caps, because {S} is severely allergic to any exposure to peanut products. He is at complete risk for anaphylactic shock, and it’s a threat t his life.
So Michael (my husband) decided to just call the center, and see if it was indeed a concern; Were there peanuts and peanut shells everywhere? He spoke to a really nice woman, and she basically said “Oh yes…there is peanut shells and such everywhere. They feed them to the elephants, and the vendors sell roasted peanuts at the snack bars too.”. <sigh> So he then asked if they possibly had any section of seats somewhere, that was a peanut-free zone. He figured that was possible, as common as peanut allergies are these days. The woman he was speaking with was all about figuring something out. She was calling Guest Services to see what they could come up with. She said to call that day if we decided to go, and they would do everything they could to accommodate us. She wasn’t sure WHAT yet, but she said she’d work on it.
So without a firm plan, I was a nervous wreck, as mothers get. I wanted to be excited about bringing the kids to the circus, but, I was so worried. So I had a plan, too! I didn’t even want the kids to know where we were going, even as we drove there, because if there wasn’t a safe enough spot, we were turning around and coming home. My boy’s life just wasn’t worth the risk. If there WAS a fairly peanut-safe area, I had all the other precautions I could think of: His Epi-Pens of course (he is never, ever, anywhere, without them), sanitizing hand wipes, and a dark blue sheet to throw over the seats where he would sit. And then, we stopped at the ER on the way and I got some of those paper masks. : ) He was wearing one if there was a question of contamination.
So when we got there and parked, Michael called the lady back on his cell, and told her we were there. (He was carrying {S}, and I was still a wreck without knowing the exact safety-plan. ) The woman told him “Oh yes, we’ve been waiting for you. Just buy 3 of the most inexpensive tickets, and come on upstairs to the Guest Services Office.”
O.k. That was comforting to know they remembered, and were expecting us. So, we did, and then we were cheerfully escorted to a suite of our own!! They told us it had been specially cleaned and completely sanitized just for us, and to just enjoy the show! Seriously?! They left us in this beautiful room, completely furnished. It was beyond what we were ever expecting, with a private bathroom (that’s always cool with kids), 4 or 5 flat-screen tvs, a computer, sink, fridge, bar with stool and huge slider glass doors that opened with a view of the whole arena from the room! We even had our own balcony with 2 rows of seats. As cool as the room was (and really, we didn’t need all of THAT), I was just so-very-relieved over the safety of which {S} could enjoy the circus, along with all of us, that I was near tears. I was just seriously overwhelmed with gratitude. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and 2 EMTs came in and introduced themselves, and let us know they were right down the hall if we needed anything. I was sure by then that we wouldn’t be needing them, but talk about nice!
Beyond the safety of this room, it was cool to just be able to get up and move around during the 2 hour show. (That’s a good thing for ME. lol). We just thoroughly enjoyed the show, and this special family time, and felt so blessed that this woman cared enough to make arrangements like that for us. She surely represents the ‘good people’ in this world, who work with a smile, and want to help people when they can. We’ll never forget it, and we know the kids will always remember this surprise trip to the circus, that we watched from the special room. What an incredible experience to have.
So enough of our cool story. Here’s some photos…some better than others. lol. I was shooting in the dark with flash most of the time.
This gives you a good idea of how we were able to view the show from this room.
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The circus down below us.
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The kids love elephants, so I took several shots of them, and here are a couple.
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{A} and {J} hanging out together at the bar stools, watching the show from there. Everyone else was out on the balcony at this point, which was right in front of them. They were so cute.
Below was one of the kids favorite acts, on this contraption, featuring “Bello”, the clown star of the show. It was pretty funny, but made your heart race too.
It really was a phenomenal show. Even the intermission was fun, actually. The kids were wiped out on the way home. {J} fell asleep in the van immediately, {O} caught some zzz’s too, once I saw she was fighting off dozing, and I told her to go ahead and close her eyes. {S} was a little too pumped to sleep then, but talked about how he looked forward to going to bed. lol. {A} stayed wide awake, and was mesmerized by the full moon over the city horizon line. She noticed it had an orange ring around it, and it fascinated her.
Once we got home and everyone woke back up, the circus talk was non-stop….about their favorite parts, and re-playing all of the acts that they thought were so funny. They had a late dinner, and went to bed soon after – dreaming about the circus no doubt.
Today, the circus chatter continued. I guess that’s why it’s called The Greatest Show on Earth!
