Just Another Day at the Park

After months of being stuck indoors, stuffed under layers of clothing, I jumped at the first glimpse of warm weather to take the girls to the park. Safiyah was more than excited when I mentioned the idea to her.
"The park - the park" she exclaimed. "I'm goin' to da park!"
She had already started her happy dance.

So, I packed up everything I could ever conceive of needing. I have learned the hard way that nothing is worse than being ready for a great day out, when it's ruined by something simple like forgetting the formula, or the wipes and being forced back home. I made a mental checklist of everything we would need.

Double stroller. Check.
Diaper bag. Check.
Water, snacks, neosporin spray. Check, check and check.

I even crazily packed a magazine, like I'd have time to casually peruse the pages while the girls peacefully played in the grass. Ok, so I'd started to over idealize the day. Needless to say, I felt prepared, which should have been my first warning.

When we arrived at the park, I was initially struck by how packed it was! Apparently I wasn't the only one who had been waiting for the first day of sunshine to bring her kids out - go figure. I pushed the stroller over to a nice spot to unpack, as Safiyah anxiously struggled to break free of the stroller. Safi immediately spotted a friend from daycare and I watched her run and embrace the girl as if they were reuniting after years of forced separation. I strapped Layla in the Baby Bjorn and watched Safiyah happily skip away with her friend toward the swings.

But no sooner than I started to feel like I may have actually gotten this motherhood thing down, I heard the most dreaded five words at a playground.

"Mommy, I hafta peeeeeeeee."

I have waited so long for the day that Safiyah would be potty trained; and I must admit that once she was ready, it happened rather quickly. But in the middle of the park of seemingly twenty thousand children and no indoor plumming, I suddenly wished that Safiyah was wearing a Pull Up instead of panties.

"Are you sure?" I asked, sounding a little too hopeful that this was a false alarm.
But Safiyah instantly started the jumping-up-and-down-holding-herself routine and that was my cue that we better make a bee line for the port-a-potties.

I packed up my nicely assembled stroller/day-at-the-park survival cart and escorted Safiyah to the potties. But as we opened the door, I saw Safiyah's eyes widen as a look of sheer horror crossed her face.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!" she began to scream, as if I had secretly brought her there to kill her.
"I caaaan't go on that potty!!!!"

"I know, I know. It's gross" I said, trying to ease the hysteria.
"Don't worry, Safi, I'll hold you over the potty - you don't have to sit down on this potty."

But she was not convinced.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!" She wailed again!

I started to pick her up to show her how quickly we could get ithis over with, but in an instant, she stiffened her body like a board and refused to make any movement that remotely resembled a squatting position. It didn't take long to realize this was going nowhere fast.

Defeated, and still full of pee, we exited the death chamber. I watched another woman tackle the same resistence with her son who ran in the opposite direction as soon as the port-a-potty door opened. Call me naive, but I never realized how scary port-a-potties could be to children.

We returned to our park bench and I explained to Safiyah that since she couldn't go to the potty, I had to put a Pull Up on her. (Yes, I had packed those too). She refused.
"Mommy, I don't wear Pull Ups, I-wear-PANTIES!"

I opted out of battle of wills game with a toddler. Plus, I started to realize how strange I may look trying to convince a nearly three-year old to regress to Pull Ups. So, I let it go. And apparently so did Safiyah, who happily resumed play as if she'd never had to use the bathroom at all.

But about a half hour later, Safiyah returned in a panic.
"Mommy, I REALLY hafta peeeeeee."

"Safi, there's only that one bathroom you already went to."
"Do you think you can use it there?"

"NO" she quickly responded.

And then I saw a look in her eye as if a lightbulb had literally just been pulled on in her head.

"Mommy, I can just pee outside!!"
She seemed so pleased to have solved the riddle that had baffled us both. As I processed the idea in my head, she smiled, apparently quite proud her own resourcefulness.

My first instinct was, NO WAY!
And then I weighed my options.

Wet, pee-soaked child - leave the park.
A little pee on the ground - stay and play.

Let's just say, it was a good thing I brought the wipes!