The Greatest Show on Earth...For Some

We got free tickets to the Shrine Circus, so we thought it would be fun to take Adam. It started out OK. He was very excited the whole way there. We found our seats and Adam picked out a light up wand thing like all the other kids and we settled in for the show. The lights dimmed and the music came up and his hands immediately went to his ears. This is nothing new for Adam who has never been a fan of anything with loud noises (fireworks, car washes, parades, etc.). He was still enjoying the show until the clown came out in the rusty old car. Then came the very loud backfires, smoke and fire. That did it. He started shaking and gave me the saddest look, "Mommy, I want to go home!" We took him out to the hallway and asked him if he wanted to stay or go home. The choice was obvious, so home we went. He talked about the clown the entire way home. He had a whole story for it. I asked him "Did you like the tigers?" he shook his head yes; "Did you like the flying ladies?" yes again;"Did you like the clown?" and he gave a very passionate no. I feel bad that he didn't enjoy the show more, but I am also not going to force him to stay somewhere in misery. He did say he would go to the circus again next year when it wasn't so loud. So we will keep trying and hopefully he will get past his fear of loud noises.

Adam right before the show started. The smile didn't last long. :(