I had to ask myself today…what am I more afraid of…my newly potty trained daughter having a ‘poop’ accident in her panties…or getting pulled over and given a speeding ticket?
I opted ticket. We were on our way to Target when this little voice from the back says, “Mommy, I have to poop.” Now, normally, that sends us running to the nearest bathroom, since she is still new enough at this whole game that she waits until she really has to go to tell me. Since we were in the car, and no where near a bathroom, but really only about 4 minutes from Target, I said, “Can you hold it for just a couple of minutes?” I figured I could just speed up a little and get us to the ‘potty’ in the nick of time.
Now, considering I was driving through what I know to be a highly policed area, I had a moment of panic. Should I really speed up? (Keep in mind, I’m not talking going 80mph in a 25mph….more like 43mph in a 35, which is still enough to get me a ticket) I decided the potential harm to my little girl’s psyche outweighed me driving (safely) but a little faster than normal.
Since potty training was, thus far, my absolute worst parenting experience, I would, truly, rather get a ticket than risk moving backwards in the potty training world. Now, I know, had I been pulled over, it would have made the whole thing worse, but I was hopeful a kind police officer might take pity on me.
The truth is, I didn’t spend that much time thinking this through…I quickly weighed my options and then hurried up. I think, more than anything, my brain did a little double-take at my inner dialogue. We arrived at Target maybe a full 45 seconds sooner than we would have.
And the best part? The true kicker? I pulled into Target, parked in a hurry, got the kids unstrapped from their car seats in record time, RAN into Target, got Delaney on the potty (in what I clearly believed was ‘the nick of time’), she sat, and sat, and sat….looked at me and said, “I don’t have to go, Mommy.”
This has to be some great, big cosmic joke.
Leave a Reply