Wacky Wednesday #18: Flamingos

This week I am channeling my favorite animal: the wiggly-necked, feathered, fabulous flamingo. They are such fun-looking creatures, with those twisty necks, pencil-thin legs and oodles of cheery feathers in my favorite color: pink. I’m not becoming a flamingo (I didn’t think my neck would stretch out that long). But I’m celebrating flamingos with my costume today.

Since I’ve made my flamingo obsession public, people have begun giving me flamingos. So thoughtful. I decided to pose with some of my flamingos together for today’s photo shoot. (“Photo shoot” is an overstatement, of course, and makes me sound like a celebrity, which I am not. Does forcing my son to take my photo count as a photo shoot?) I have flamingos inside my house as well as in the front yard at our place, our personal flamingo habitat. Hey, the front of the house needs personality, too…

The back: 

My hat:

 

Want to know what I used to make this costume? Mostly stuff from my sewing stash (fabric, buttons, lace, pipe cleaners, drinking straws, marabou). But I did buy a few things to bring this costume to life:

·         A big pink t-shirt (thrifted), which I turned into the dress:                     $ 4

·         Felt, feathers and sequins:                                                                           $ 4

 

Total spent:                                                                                                    $ 8

As a side note, I want to share a few thoughts about all my Wacky Wednesdays:

If orange is the new black, I declare that Wednesday is the new Saturday. This is controversial, I know. It’s hard to compete with Saturday. For those of us with school-aged kids, Saturday is an oasis in the desert of the school week. On Saturdays I am free from a squawking alarm clock, rushing to get the kids ready for school, frantic last-minute searches for a missing shoe and nagging about homework. But in recent weeks Wednesday has become my new favorite day. Wacky Wednesday is the day I will make people laugh. It’s the day when I debut a costume I’ve worked during the week, one that is funny in its theme or funny because people aren’t expecting to see something like a giant parrot walking through the suburbs on a day that isn’t Halloween. Making people laugh is one of my favorite things to do.

There’s a senior at my gym who told me how much he appreciates my weekly wackiness. I was so glad. As I told him, everyone needs to laugh. I think most of us really like to laugh. Not only is it a stress-buster, but it just lightens the mood. There are many things (whether real or imagined) that divide people, but laughing is something that can unify us. Humor is an ice-breaker, too. Sometimes people on the street don’t speak as they pass but when I’m wearing a funny costume, almost everyone says something. I go to my local supermarket each Wednesday and the checkers love my creations. It feels great to make people happy.

FAQ:

Q: When did you realize that you are funny?

A: When I was 16. I started doing theater in high school and realized that I had ideas about what would make a line or a scene funnier. Comedic timing. A facial expression. And when I made people laugh, it made me happy. Humor is a way to connect.

Q: How long do you spend on most costumes?

A: Roughly 10 hours per week. Sometimes people comment that this seems like a lot of time to invest. I suppose that’s true but it makes me happy, it makes others happy, and I still manage to get (most of) the other stuff on my to do list completed.

Q: Do you get ideas on Pinterest?

A: No. Usually an idea pops into my mind and I sketch it before it can vanish. These ideas are generated in this busy bee hive of a brain of mine. I get ideas almost every day—just looking around at the world.

Q: What do people think of your wackiness?

A: Most people love it. I walk in my neighborhood every day and when it’s WW, people I don’t know wave to me from their cars, or compliment my costumes. People ask if I do this for work. Nope, I say. Just bringing some cheer to my community. Some people ask to take photos. Others thank me for giving people a boost.  It delights me to delight others.