Death Defying

Oh, the hours Denise I played on her swing set! We were about 7 and 8 years old. I can’t remember that we used the swings though.

We were the great Twirling Twinklers in the Starlight Circus. Ours was a swing set placed in the center ring. We flew high over crowds while they oohed and ahhed. We walked the tiniest tightropes on tiptoes. We did tremendous tricks that hadn’t been thought of yet . . . or if they had, no grownup would think of attempting them. The elephants and clowns all watched and wished they were us. We always worked together and never worked with a net. We knew exactly how high we could fly. Our hands never missed on that fateful catch.

We were the bravest, most beautiful, circus performers that ever were. We were legends in Denise’s front yard.

When Denise’s mom called in for lunch, we’d leave the circus swing set outside. The roaring crowds waited while we took our time. When we returned, they roared once again for us. They roared in every country, on every continent, in every corner of the whole world. It wasn’t even cold performing in Antarctica. We were that professional. We were that good.

The trust that we had in each other was frightening. The trust in ourselves was death-defying. We were two kids playing circus. Trust and belief were key our fabulous success. We knew that our glamorous life was made from them. Our routines were perfect and so were the stars that held the dreams in our eyes.

I’m going to find a swing set to practice my circus tricks. I want to believe the way I did then.

I like the idea of death-defying trust in myself.

−me strauss Letting me be