A kid's gotta go when a kid's gotta go!!!
Dec 26 '08
The Bottom Line Every parent faces off with the "Restroom Closed For Cleaning" sign at least once. Here's my story!!
How many times are you doing the grocery shopping when your little one belts out, “Oh, I gotta go potty!!” You’re usually at the farthest possible point from the restrooms, grabbing that last frozen food item that has been left off of the list 3 weeks in a row. Most parents who venture out with their children find out within the first two years where every public restroom is in their county. You are no different. You respond, “Okay…” and glance around, making a tactical plan before you hit the ground running. You know you have very little time before this “gotta go” turns into an “I’m sorry…” How many restrooms are in this building? One? Two? Is there a family restroom, or just men’s and women’s? You choose your plan of action, scoop up the child and get moving. As you reach the point of no return, you notice something yellow sticking out of the doorway…. “Oh No!!” They did not just pick THIS particular time to spring clean the only restroom in the building!!
Now, my daughter is almost eight years old, and although we don’t have to make the mad dash, we do still bee-line it for the potty at the first utterance from her simply because she is a “waiter.” She does not want to miss one second of life so she ignores her bladder until it is about to erupt. I don’t’ care for any kind of eruptions, so I listen to her bladder when she notices it. Today, we found ourselves square in the middle of the store. It was right out of an old western movie. We realized we needed to make a move. Everything around us slowed to half-speed. I looked left, then right and just as the opponent is about the pull his gun, I decide to go the bathroom in the front because it’s bigger than the one in the back and it is of equal distance. Back to the real world, and we zoom through the crowd, only to be confronted with the dreaded yellow cart.
This time the cart is wedged so tightly in the doorway that there is no pushing it aside from our vantage point. There’s all ready someone waiting and I ask her how long she thinks it will be. Surely, she wouldn’t be waiting here unless she’s spoken to someone and knows it will be open soon. We have no time to bolt back the other end of the store – not without leaving a trail, thus making the journey pointless. She says the attendant claimed she would be done “Shortly.” Well, that’s not good enough for us. I realize, to my horror, that there is no middle ground family stall in this store. You are either a lady or a man and the ladies are just out of luck right now. I decide to “Yoohoo...” the tile doorway to see which gender appears with cleaning solution.
The poor woman is clearly frightened at the site of me. Unyielding to her nervousness, I ask how long until it will be open. She recounts which of her duties is yet undone and I realize that we are looking at another 15 minutes. After wasting 3 of those trying to out-think the situation, I resort to obnoxiousness. Niceness apparently fell out of the cart somewhere around aisle 11. I explain that while she may still need to mop the bathroom, she will likely be mopping the hallway as well if she doesn’t just let my kid go pee in the next 20 seconds. (I bit back the part of my diatribe where I wanted to explain that she’s obviously paid by the hour and can spend that time however she wants… cleaning and making people pee their britches, or taking a paid break and avoiding some serious spills. Why is she the only person I’ve met this year who still has a work ethic?)) She tries to smile, steps back and scoots the cart over about a foot. My girlie runs past, making it just in the nick of time.
Of course, once you break the dam, the waters flow freely. Seven other women who were not originally standing there waiting with us appeared, as if by magic, with a similar urgency and moved their way past the yellow bathroom bouncer. The attendant just stood there. She glanced at me and tried to smile. I mouth “I’m sorry” but it was to no avail. The damage was done. I had set her schedule back at least 5 minutes and probably threw her completely off her cleaning game. I felt bad. But I was also glad that I did not have to go back into the store and try to find alternative clothing for my horribly embarrassed daughter who peed her pants waiting for the floor to be mopped. Selfish? Maybe! But really, why does the bathroom need a full on mopping in the middle of the evening when the store has reached critical mass?? Yes, please refill the toilet paper and wipe off the sinks, but don’t shut down the whole facility for 30 minutes in the middle of rush hour unless there’s been a problem! If only I could manage every store I walk into. The world would run much more smoothly, I’m sure!! After all, I’m the only one around here who can figure out what’s going on. And when my kid’s got to pee, she’s got to pee!
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Epinions.com ID:
sweets7568
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Member: Alicia Slansky
Location: Rockledge, FL
Reviews written: 60
Trusted by: 31 members
About Me:
I am a wife, mother and preschool teacher who loves to read, write and play!
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