Guess who got up, donned one pair of shorts, one shirt, 2 socks and one shoe all by himself today? Seth Nicholson- thats who!~ He only needed minimal help with shoe # leftie. He could have done it himself but it was becoming uncomfortable for him to do and me to watch :) I had to share that first victory before I share a valuable lesson from yesterdays Walmart trip: Lets call this: Lessons From a Potty Stall or (if youre from my Frontier family- Potty Stall Reflections) :) Dont use the handicapped accessible bathroom if you are not handicapped. OK, dont panic- did not affect Seth. I am admitting that due to the years of being a fat girl who found the handicapped stall much friendlier, I have developed the habit of using the accessible bathroom. You have to admit that it is nice to have the extra space to breathe, stretch your legs, wash your hands in privacy, etc. But yesterday, as I sat down on the potty in the big stall, I merely felt sick to my stomach. What if someone like Seth comes in and needs this stall- not for convenience, but out of necessity? It does not simply slow them down, it stops them. They are not merely inconvenienced, they are debilitated. We have learned that when Seth needs to go, there is not always lots of warning. I am sure that he is not the only person in a wheelchair or with physical limitations that is in this situation. Remember: it has already taken him longer to get to the bathroom than it took me...he then had to maneuver the door closed (and by the way, the required specification for the accessible bathroom size is barely enough)... it is going to take him much longer to get on the toilet and struggle with his pants. And all the while, he had significantly less physical warning time that he needed to go than I did and may have had to do a search for the right bathroom locale. If all of this does not happen in a timely manner, he will have to ask for more help- and from who? Strangers? Will he have to ask them to come out and find me? Will he have to struggle to clean himself and then come out of the bathroom and be smelly and in a chair... will he then be that person that people turn their noses up at and either pity or disdain? Needless to say, as these pictures of Seth ran through my head yesterday, I stopped midstream (literally) and waddled down a few stalls with my head hung low. I am sorry to all the beautiful women that I may have caused delay, frustration, or accidents. Given the # of years that I have chosen the comfy stall, there may be lots of you. I wont do that again. I promise. In an effort to end this on a positive note- I have learned other lessons from the potty stall. Just ask Dina Spivey :) Phillipians 2:3 Dont be selfish; dont try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 13:20:51 +0000