Most moms would probably describe their daily lives as a circus act – juggling schedules, taming the wild beasts also known as children, balancing on a tightrope without a safety net – and working mom Tina Miser, 33, would agree. As the human cannonball for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Tina travels 50 weeks out of the year while also raising her 5-year-old daughter, Skyler.

Tina began performing in her hometown of Peru, Indiana at an amateur circus when she was just 8-years-old. After completing her bachelor’s degree at Ball State University and joining the Air Force Reserves, she met her future husband and “trigger man,” Brian, and began touring the country with her family in tow.

Now in her 7th year with Ringling Bros. and her 5th year as a human cannonball, Tina talks about balancing her life as a mom and a circus performer.

What makes your job meaningful to you?

I love the excitement the audience projects back to me. They are cheering and clapping and truly enjoying the show. I especially like the moment in the show when I meet the Circus Celebrities after I just got shot from my cannon. I’m exhilarated - and so are they! I love to show the children that dreams really can come true. I always dreamed of performing with the Greatest Show on Earth and here I am!

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Was there a moment when you recognized success?

I have always felt successful just because I was happy, but one moment in time that sticks out is when the 135th Edition of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey was in Indianapolis. We had over 50 people from our hometown of Peru, IN come to see the show. My husband and I opened the show with a double cannon shot and then jumped on an elephant for the Opening Parade. The whole Peru section stood up and cheered for us.  That moment brought tears to my eyes because my fellow Peruvians were so proud of us!

How do you handle work/life balance?

Finding a balance is actually easy when living and working together. I basically take my family to work with me. We get to spend a lot of time together even when I am working, it is my husband who fires me from the cannon and my daughter is just backstage in the Ringling Bros. Daycare. I am blessed to have so much time with my family. The challenge is more finding a quiet moment to myself to read a book or make a phone call!

How does your daughter inspire you?

Even though I am home schooling my daughter I find that she teaches me a lot. We were walking to a building one day and I was thinking about what I need to do and making a mental 'to-do' list. I was pretty deep in thought and getting caught up in all those adult responsibilities. My daughter tugged on my hand and said, "It is a beautiful day, Mama. The sun is shining and the birds are singing. I feel like I should dance!" I laughed out loud. How right she was - and I didn't even notice! I stopped and looked around and just smiled thinking how wonderful my little girl is to point out the simple, yet important things to me. So then we skipped and galloped to the building!

What about your life or experiences can other moms learn from?
 
Before joining Ringling Bros Circus, I was a big planner. I thought everything out and had my days and weeks (sometimes longer) planned out. When things didn't work out I would get anxious and try to rearrange my schedule to fix it. Well, I had to loosen up quite a bit when I joined the Circus, especially after having my daughter. 

Every day is different for me. Some days we are traveling to the next city. Some days we have one show and some days we have three shows. Sometimes while driving we will blow a tire and that will upset our travel schedule. Sometimes something out of the ordinary may happen on show and we have to adjust for that. I may have a “brief” idea about what I want to accomplish in a day, but I never know what may happen. I look forward to those unexpected moments. That’s part of the fun.

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