What a blessing to start this new year with so many fun memories already....including a great evening at the circus last week. The four of us were excited to attend The Jordan World Circus just a few minutes' drive from our home - especially Jeff, Kaden & Seneca, all of whom had never been to the Circus before. I was a little surprised at how expensive the tickets were, but justified our fun night out, when I was able to track down FREE TICKETS for my babies. All in all, we really enjoyed the spectacular show.
Seneca and I both really enjoyed the beautiful women acrobats that performed on the ropes hanging from the ceiling. Kaden's favorite parts of the circus were the motorcyclists in the Circle of Death (those guys are NUTS) and the acrobat on the Wheel of Destiny (also MY favorite). SUCH amazingly talented performers!!!
There were so many fun animals.....tigers, dogs, bears, elephants, etc. and talented performers. And yet, the funny thing is (and I am sure the marketing people for the circus are COMPLETELY aware of this), my babies couldn't even FOCUS on the show until they were set up with a snow cone and popcorn. LOL!
Fortunately, Mama had planned ahead and had come prepared with other snacks (crackers for Kaden, who is currently on a "no-treats bet" until July 1st, cotton candy for Baby, Raisinets for Jeff....and Apple Juice for everyone)....so we only had to spend money on ONE treat each for the kids (a BLUE snowcone for Seneca and popcorn for Kaden) to keep everyone happy and interested in the show. :-)
It's interesting being a parent sometimes. You invest time and money into showing your babies an amazing evening....and still so often, it's just not enough. For example, the Circus, in and of itself, was AMAZING. However, as soon as you arrive at the Circus, you are bombarded with clowns selling glow-in-the-dark necklaces, swords and wands ($10 each), Elephant Rides ($10 per person), Pony Rides ($7 per person), Pictures with a Live Bear ($10 per person), etc.......ALL of which your little ones "just have to have." Bless our hearts as parents. I have to admit, I felt a little bit of frustration with The Jordan World Circus for charging SO much for admission, and then charging SO MUCH for the "extras" once you are inside. It's torture for little ones to be taunted with all of that...when so many parents simply can't afford to do it all. We definitely had a few wonderful teaching opportunities while we were at the circus. Seneca, bless her cute heart, had a hard time with not being able to do EVERY SINGLE activity while we were there. However, even if I DID have the extra funds to do EVERYTHING there that night, there were many reasons why I still wouldn't have. My babies are blessed with so much...but I don't want to spoil them so much that they don't appreciate everything they have. It's important to learn that we can be happy DESPITE what we have or don't have. If we teach our little ones that the more THINGS we have, the more HAPPINESS we have, they will never truly be able to create their own happiness. It's interesting...in my own life...the more things I have had to learn to go without, the MORE TRUE happiness I have GAINED. I have never had less in my life....or been more happy.
During intermission, when all of these fun (and outrageously expensive) activities were available to the audience, Seneca had a rather monster tantrum over not being able to do them all. Bless her heart. I made sure that she knew that I understood her frustrations and that it was okay (and HEALTHY, in fact) to share her emotions so openly. And, since it was so loud during intermission anyway, I let her know that she was more than okay to cry and express her sadness for the remainder of intermission. However, at the end of intermission, she needed to be done. :-) I used to get so frustrated when my little ones would throw tantrums. It's amazing how calm I always remain in my parenting now...and how I am able to feel so peaceful as I try and creating understanding between me and my little ones. Reminds me of a plaque I have here in my home that I know I have referred to recently here on my blog..."Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of God." It seems like such a "no-brainer," but it's amazing how much progress you make with children when you, as the adult, are able to stay calm and level-headed....and remain in a place of understanding. Awesome. I explained to both of my babies the importance of being grateful for what we have..and not basing our happiness on always having more and more. Then, I also explained to them how companies like this, know that they can charge a lot of money for little activities like this...and that they are taking advantage of good people. It is what it is, right? I tried to help them see the value of money....of one single dollar...and just how much we could buy with the money we would have used for ONE elephant ride (which lasted less than 3 minutes). Though Kaden soon saw the value in saving our money and enjoying the show we came to see, Seneca still had a hard time. Sooo many tears. Darnit.
Every now and again, I worry about these little tantrums from my babies when Jeff is around (since he doesn't have babies of his own). But the truth of the matter is...I am a mother....and Jeff knows and understands that. And the funny thing is, in this particular case, Seneca's tantrum was a RESULT of good-parenting - caused by NOT giving into her fits and teaching her that having more and more things won't bring us more happiness. It is also healthy for us to teach our little ones how to sooth themselves and find happiness WITHOUT simply giving themselves THINGS to pacify themselves. We very OFTEN won't get everything we WANT in life. It is of the UTMOST importance to have the ability to CREATE happiness and FIND it, DESPITE our circumstances.....no matter what we have or don't have. I honestly believe this starts at a very young age. Jeff is so wonderful and understanding. He sat with his arm around me, supporting me as a mother, as I sat and talked Seneca through her tantrum and taught her the value of sharing our emotions openly, appreciating our blessings and creating our own happiness. It was so reassuring that although Jeff doesn't have little ones of his own....he truly understands how children are and respects and supports my parenting. I can't express how grateful I was to have his support. Such a blessing. And...though Seneca did continue to cry through intermission....she slowed down until her sniffles completely disappeared, right in time for the second half of the show to get started...and SMILED and LAUGHED the remainder of the evening.
And at the end of the show, BOTH of my little ones were completely content to simply have their pictures taken NEXT to the elephants.....instead of paying $20 to ride one for 3 minutes. Happy day! :-) Overall, the night was a raging success......a few priceless teaching moments and a full night of wonderful entertainment and memorable family time. We truly are so richly blessed. So grateful for such a fun night with all three of my babies. :-)
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