Today, it’s story time on TheOPLife, but this has a nice moral at the end, so stay with me. My family grew this summer by one member. We added Flo.
Flo is the gianormous pink flamingo we got on vacation.
We were in Grand Cayman, staying at the Ritz Carlton, and every day on my way to the beach, I’d pass the little poolside shop outside that had the usual things most poolside shops have… SPF, sunglasses, water cameras, cover ups, t-shirts, and of course PINK FLAMINGOS. HA! I mean doesn’t EVERY store have pink flamingos?
I kept passing it by and passing it by and I thought to myself, how FUN would it be to have her, even just for fun silly pictures. So I caved got her in the morning.
And she was NOT cheap. $100 to be exact. And she was HUGE. Did I mention that before?
She was SO huge that finding a place for Flo was a challenge. Carrying her was another. Getting on top of her? That was a comedy act in and of itself. It was really quite embarrassing, especially myself, NOT being a child or teenager to climb on top, trying to keep all of my body parts in place and my swimsuit in its place as well.
So the day progressed people looked. Heads turned. There were no other GIANT pink flamingos in sight. Just our obnoxious Flo. And we looked just as obnoxious and acted like goofballs along the way too. But I didn’t care. I didn’t know a soul there, and even if I did, most people know I have some goofiness, dorkiness, gooberish, quirkyness in me. And not only that, we had SO much fun being silly and being together and enjoying this fun special time.
Lunch time passed, and shortly thereafter, along comes another pink flamingo onto the beach… the little girl wailed earlier that morning wanting one so bad. Her parents caved as well. Then, about an hour later, another family ended up with a pink flamingo.
At the end of the day, there were THREE GIANT pink flamingos on the beach. Passers by probably thought that our hotel had them available for guest use. HA!
And I swear when I got Flo, her box was sitting there for quite a while. She was there from the beginning of our trip. Who knows when she got on the shelf, but in that one day, we influenced the purchase of two more pink flamingos. Honestly, it was quite a cool thing to see, I have to say.
So what’s the point of all of this?
We were different. We stood out like a sore thumb that day on the beach and in the pool. We did something that others hadn’t done. Was it totally out of the ordinary? No. Pink flamingos are in right now. But no one else had one on the beach. Sure we see them all over instagram and think how fun are those, but to get one is another thing. EXTRA fun!
What happens when you stand apart from the crowd and do your own thing, be unique and different from the rest?
- Consider yourself a trendsetter. We certainly started a trend that day. And helped boost the sales of the poolside shop!
- You could be embarking on something bigger than you anticipated. Think outside of this scenario. You could have an idea that turns into something WAY bigger… maybe a business idea, an invention, something blossoming over just one small move that set you apart.
- You could be inspiring others to do great things. That’s always an awesome thing to see others being influenced by your doing.
Between a big camera, my phone camera, the humidity on the lens, here are some shots of us and Flo…
So next time you’re on the beach and want to be a little different, do it. You might be way cooler than you think! {wink!}
Love it! I am obsessed with cute pool floats and you look amazing lady!! Hot momma! xoxo
HA! Thank you! I know we are too! They’re so fun! It was really fun to see the flock grow from 0 to 3.
xoxo
irene