The Barron Center is a complex of buildings serving the elderly of Maine's largest city. Last week my middle school juggling troupe, LOL, did a show at the Barron Center nursing home facility. The thing we noticed immediately was that the floors had recently been polished. In seconds my young ministry team had lost all focus as they were sliding across the floor in their socks and on their behinds.

Eventually I got them refocused and we began to set up. We learned quickly that the slick floor would present unique challenges. While warming up, one of our tumblers, Lillia, landed a perfect aerial, only to hit the mat and it immediately began sliding beneath her feet like a surf board. The balance board and stilts were simply impossible.

The tumbling mat was an easy fix. There was a stage behind where we were setting up, and that floor was not as slick. We would use that area for gymnastics. I explored around backstage as the kids warmed up and found an old, rolled up carpet. Eureka! This was just the thing to give the balance boarders and stilt walkers the traction they needed to perform. Not only that, but it would protect the tiled floor from any dropped machetes by our jugglers.

This last part was unnecessary. Sam, Lillia and Grace all performed machetes for the first time, and they all did them flawlessly. Ella juggled three balls for the first time in a show and was also spot on.

As usual, the best part of the day was after the show when the kids went into the audience and met the residents. Ther was a lot of laughter, chatter and some prayer too. Once again, this year's team had an excellent show and blessed many people as well.