flash (flood)

(warning: some disgusting content in this post)

BR is potty training. We are working on timing, but it can be very tricky. He is a little confused about whether to inform me before or after there is a puddle on the floor. He doesn't quite understand that "Quick, Mommy! Take me to the potty!" is really no longer relevant once the trousers are soaked.



On my end of things, I am no longer very fazed about the process (usually). I am not even embarrassed about having to mop up a mess under a coffee shop table or whatever public place we happen to be (usually); I always carry a change of clothes and underwear, and then the rest of it... Well, really, third time around there is not much he can dish out that I haven't already handled before. (With grace and poise, of course. Always).

I guess if I had to point to the particular moment when I knew that I reached "Experienced" Mom status when it came to diapers and potty training, it would have to be a couple of months ago. That morning, I woke up earlier than the kids and somehow successfully (and miraculously) snuck into the bathroom without waking anyone up on my way there. I showered and even washed my hair before any of them realized what was happening.

When I eventually made it upstairs to BR's room to pull him out of his crib, the stench was fairly overwhelming. The diaper had not held up, and his sleeper, sheets and blankets were a freshly browned hue.

Ordinarily, this would lead to an interior self-pitying monologue about how this was no way to start the day, and then probably something sarcastic like how I didn't need more laundry to do today, thank-you-very-much. I would grit my teeth and then reason my way into believing that although it was not BR's fault that the velcro bands on the diaper didn't do their job, maybe he could grow up just a little faster and figure this out on his own... That sort of thing. (I know, I am so mature, right?)

But that day was different. My first reaction was just to shrug calmly. "Huh. Look at that," I thought. "Oh well. And who cares, anyway? I can handle anything today because I had a shower!"