Losing Myself with Flamingo's

The saying “Kids do the craziest things!” was a saying my childhood seemed to thrive off of. No matter where I was, an incident was sure to occur, but I think this one may take the cake.

I remember being shaken awake by my mother, her soft southern accent dancing around my eardrums. My name making its way into my conscious mind, and the sun from the window shining through my eyelids. Then, I hear that same soothing accent call my brothers names. My eyes slowly opened to see my mother gently shaking my brother's shoulders. It took a lot to wake us kids up, we loved our sleep. I want to say it took us about 30 minutes collectively to wake up from our sleep, and about an hour getting us ready and out the door.

USA (1344)

It was a hot summer day somewhere located in Orlando, Florida, and my Grandma had planned for her and my mother to take my brothers and I to SeaWorld. The three of us were all very excited for the experience that was about to be brought upon us. It’s not like we hadn’t been to Orlando before, but we had never been to SeaWorld.

Giddy in our seats, we couldn’t calm down. I remember being so fascinated while looking out the window of the big Lexus SUV my mother was driving all of us in. Seeing all the pretty palm trees, and a giant mermaid on the front of a gift shop. As a child, I had always been so interested in marine life, fictional or not, and seeing the mermaid made me wanna bounce off the walls from excitement.

Palm Tree

During this time, I was an abnormally tall kid, standing about 5’1 at the age of 9. Which meant, I was allowed on roller coasters, and that fact could’ve made my mind explode. However, my cramped legs were getting numb, and I was getting agitated until my eyes landed on the sign that read “ SeaWorld”, the vibrant blue and yellow stinging my brown exhilarated eyes. I can recall the gasp that escaped me from pure thrill to be pulling into our destination. 

Parking was a nightmare for me. I remember wanting to get out of the car before it even stopped, I just wanted to go in already. However, I had a responsible mother and a grandmother she learned it from, so my plan to run straight in failed miserably when I couldn’t open my own door due to child lock. It felt like torture, but I understood what had to be done. My authoritative guardians finally opened the doors for my brothers and I, and I remember my legs almost turning into jelly the second my feet hit the ground. I stood there in shock, my body unable to contain the way that I felt when looking at my environment with my own two very brown eyes.

SeaWorld - entrance

My mother directs us children to hold hands, and walk together at all times. So, we did just that. Better yet, they did just that. We started the check in process as we approached the entrance gate. My grandmother was prepared, she had all of our tickets printed out and ready for an easy process. She learned quickly that us kids had absolutely no patience, and by us, I mean I had absolutely no patience. After we went through the metal detectors, we took our first steps into the amusement park. I think I should’ve been restrained to a chair, or had one of those kid leash backpacks because I recall quickly letting go of my brother's hands, and taking off. Everyone in our group is trying to follow suit, but I had too much built up excitement, and the impulse was extremely strong.

I remember the wind blowing through my black and blonde highlighted curly box braids, as my stride seems to deepen as I pick up speed. My arms pumping as fast as my body would let them, as my long legs tried to guide me to wherever or whatever I could process first. My heart is beating in my ears, and my lungs are gasping for oxygen they so desperately needed. Don’t get me wrong, I was a great runner as a child, I just never had the breathing technique down. Especially not in moments like this, when my emotions controlled me. 

I look back, and remember how it felt like I was running a 5k trying to find the first thing I could, but I was eager and so very dramatic. Finally, something caught my attention. Through my peripheral vision, my eyes caught a hint of pink to the left of me. The crowd of strangers only let me catch small glimpses of what they were staring at. My legs slow down, as my head turns to fully take a gander at the creatures that seemed to be balancing on their manmade pond. Sweat drips down my eyebrow, and I remember to catch my breath. It’s like it happened in slow motion, as I start to walk to the left of my previous location, the long skinny legs of this creature make my eyes widen as the cheesiest smile spreads across my face. Using my context clues, I knew what I would be standing in front of as soon as my body would let me. Therefore, I started a slight jog, and nowhere in my mind, did I think of the family I came with. I was too mesmerized by the pink feathers floating on the small body of water, next to this creature's leg.

As I got closer, a family started to move onto their next destination. I thought that was fortunate for me at the time. My eyes widen as the family is now completely out of my view, and a slight gasp escapes my frame as I walk up to the tall pink bird’s enclosure. I could’ve sworn the animal thought we were one in the same, because it looked at me in the eyes. Maybe it was the pink shirt I was wearing, or the way my head tilted as it did the same thing, but my little brain and heart thought we were connected. It felt like we were staring at each other for millenia, until I heard it. A scream that brought me out of a trance the beautiful animal put me in. However, this was not just any scream, but it was my name. A woman’s voice was screaming my name, but it was an unfamiliar voice. I started looking around, and as reality hit me, I ran. I ran away from my family, and I paid zero attention to where I was going or where I came from. 

Flamingo

Little Julea had a bad habit, and that bad habit was not being aware of my surroundings whatsoever. This habit paired with anxiety, did not mix well. For a second, or ten, I stopped breathing. Then, ringing in my ears started, and just about every sound became muffled. I remember a voice echoing, barely making it through the rough barrier that was keeping me from genuinely listening. My mom, screaming my name at the top of her lungs, and she sounded so close. But, I could not muster up a voice, not a single sound. I stood there for what seemed like hours trying to move my very shocked musculoskeletal system. Then, I heard her again, and she was more familiar this time. The same effect, like out of a movie. Her yelling my name echoing in my brain as my ears rang, and my chest desperately tried to fill with air. I think my vision went blurry, because I just remember my body shaking. Yet, I was not the one controlling my body. Then arms came coddling my frame, and for the first time in that anxiety filled moment, I could feel my respiratory system wake up, and my lungs then filled with air.

 All I muttered out was “I’m sorry..”, and tears began to form and roll down my cheeks. At that moment, I realized I didn’t recognize the voice because I didn’t recognize that I was alone. My mother held onto my small but colossal body, her eyes wide and full of worry. Then, she said what any mother would say to their kid. “I was looking for you! You ran too fast, we couldn’t keep up! I could’ve had a heart attack! We thought we lost you!” But, I could not respond. So I turned my head to look at the flamingo I got so lost in, trying to find some inspiration, some motivation, or just something to get me to respond.

Two Flamingos

“I was with the flamingo’s..” I said, head slightly tilted with tear stained cheeks. Admiring the others as I spoke. My mother didn’t say another word, she let me stand there for a second. My grandma and brothers were standing about 20 feet away talking amongst themselves, admiring the majestically balanced bird. In these situations, it’s best to not be too crowded. I could hear the oldest of the two telling the younger one facts about flamingos. Like how they’re pink because they eat shrimp, and when they’re born theyre actually gray and fluffy. It helped me calm down faster, and after about 5 minutes we moved past the fiasco, and enjoyed the rest of our time together. I remember being happy that I didn’t ruin the day, and made sure I could see a family member at all points in time.

Kids will do the craziest things, like get lost at the Flamingo enclosure after running away from their family. But, if you react accordingly, the crazy things stop happening as often. In my case, I definitely learned my lesson, and that’s why this story takes the cake.

Image Credits:

"SeaWorld - entrance" by inazakira is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

"Palm Tree" by hherbzilla is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

"Two Flamingos" by is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

"Flamingo" by robert.claypool is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

"USA (1344)" by Armin Rodler is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.