I live in the Northwest. Rain is part of the package. In fact, it is 99% of the way we do life here. My daughter, Sydney, who is a native, has made it very clear to me that there is a difference between rain, drizzle, and a slight sprinkle. It’s pretty much all the same to me. When wet stuff falls from the sky – hard, soft, fast or slow - I call it rain.
A couple of days ago, I was waiting to pick Sydney up in the carpool line at her school. We were parked a good distance from the building. On a dry day it would make for a nice, refreshing jaunt. On a day like this one in particular, it could only be defined as something out of a nightmare. We were getting dumped on. The real rain was pouring. After I had given Jackson and Brooklyn their stave-off-the-boredom-while-waiting-for-their-sister-snacks, Jackson started bouncing in his seat saying, “Mommy, I need to go potty.” (This seems all too familiar to me.) “How bad?” was my reply (hoping the bouncing was more for dramatic effect). “Mommy, I need to go potty now!” “Can you wait until we get to Sydney’s ballet school (which is a good thirty minutes away)?” Futile. The poor guy needed to go. What to do?
As I visualized myself wading through the puddles and raindrops with two children and a broken umbrella, I could feel a panic attack coming on (I’ve never had one, but I’m pretty sure that’s what was happening to me). Not to mention that I was dressed “up” for a class I would be teaching that evening (a parenting class, no less). I found an old zip-lock baggy, and was struck with instant inspiration. Maybe he could tinkle in the baggie? But then what? There was no trash nearby…nowhere to dispose the evidence. Jackson was beginning to wriggle and bounce even more intensely. Then I noticed one of my water bottles. I brought two with me that afternoon: one for the car, and one for later. I quickly chugged the remaining water from bottle number one and turned to Jackson.
“Jackson, you are going to go pee-pee in this bottle.”
The look on Jackson’s face was a mixture of confusion, shock. and a little fear.
“Jackson, this is going to be fun. You are going to put your pee-pee in this water bottle!”
I began unfastening him. He was warming up to the idea. We got everything situated…and…”tah-dah!”…mission accomplished.
The first words out of Jackson’s mouth were, “Mommy, this is fun!”
“Yes, it is.”
Then he added, “Look! It’s yellow! My favorite color!”
Oh happy day!
Have no fear. The contents were emptied out on an unsuspecting bush later after the rain died down. And as far as I can tell, there has been no emotional damage done.
So, tell me…when all else fails, what do you do?
Friday’s Free Advice: Share your “When All Else Fails” stories. I would certainly love to hear them! Mommy moments are much more fun when shared with other mommies…who have been there a time or two.