Ringling Brothers Circus Moms

Sara and I got the opportunity to attend a Mommy Blogger event at the Ringling Brothers circus last night. (Thank you to Feld Entertainment and US Bank Arena for the great time!) They opened the doors early for some local mommy bloggers to get a chance to talk to moms that can truly say their life is a circus every day!

We were met by two women – both named Vicky. One of them presented animals (ponies, donkeys, llamas) and the other did acrobatic tricks (like hanging from things from a motorcycle that rode on a tight wire). They travel to 44 different cities a year by RV. We were later joined by a mom who traveled on the train. It was interesting thinking of the two ways of life these moms live with their kids each day.

The one thing that I found interesting was the schooling aspect of their lives. There are two teachers that travel with them. The kids go to school while the moms are performing. They get to take gymnastics from some of the other performers. Music is taught by members of the circus band. They have the chance to take juggling classes as well. The kids do not perform in the circus and the decision to ever perform is left to each child to decide, but not until they have had a lot of practice time in.

The moms had kids ranging from 4 years old to 15 years old. I had to giggle when I heard remnants of the teen complaining they hear that is similar to what I have heard. The moms shared that the younger kids love the travel and get antsy if they are in one place for too long.

They have their work hours and they also have their days off. They take time on their days off to take their families to see the city they are currently performing in. To me, it sounded like they had very normal lives even though it involves traveling. School, work, time together – they seemed to balance it all and it all sank in when one of the women said “I love to perform. It is my life.” The smile on her face and in her eyes told me she was doing exactly what she should be doing as a mom. How cool is that?!

If you haven’t seen the show yet, there is still plenty of time!  It is MORE than worth the price of the tickets. The kids loved the all-access preshow, too!  I think it was the free clown noses they hand out during the preshow that they really got excited about!  They will be here through Sunday, March 17th.  Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. Go! Go! Go!