Tuesday, July 11, 2006

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

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ahhhh! I too wish I had the death defying trust in myself that, at a young age, let me climb trees and castle heights (the roof of my house or garage). That let me dive to the deepest part of the ocean (a swimming pool) or climb a mountain (real but not high) and soar off into the setting sun. If I could believe in me again that way I could defy death ... I did it so many times ... I want to do it again.

Anonymous said...

We used to have a swing set too, but we never did gymnastics on it. Frankly, I was always more entertained by making up our games than playing on the equipment we were supposed to play on or with.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Mama,
Gosh we're we wonderful, powerful and grand! We were our own superheroes. We just needed a spark of an idea and off we went into a whole new world. Those worlds were something weren't they?

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Patrick,
Yeah, there wasn't much interesting about going forward and backward for an hour. I bet you came up with some wild ideas of what to do on a swing set. I hope you write about it.

Anonymous said...

If I could go back an bring one thing with me from my childhood, it would be that unshakable ability to create and believe.

Too often now my actions are governed by common sense and the belief that fitting in is better than being different. Where did that unwavering (sp) belief in myself go?

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Jennifer,
That's exactly what I was thinking. I want some of that back too. It's the magic of childhood. Maybe it comes from having parents to take care of you.

Anonymous said...

My favorite part, the part that made my lips curve up, the part that said, "We were that professional."

I think that you must have always exuded professionalism Liz, it's one of the qualities I admire about you.

It also proves that professionals can be silly and wonderful and full of joy.

Okay I am going to drag my dorky self on out of here.

"ME" Liz Strauss said...

Hi Lori,
I think the totality of our professionalism was that we stood very tall and held our breath as if we were important. :)

It was a silly circus game, but to us it was a world of adventure.