This archive report was first published on 5 September 2019.
As I drove to church with my young son, I underestimated the strength of his attachment to his potty. Little did I know, this would be a day I would never forget.
My son had been potty-trained, but he was still attached to his first potty, a sky blue one that he used during his first training. I had thought that he had outgrown this attachment, but it turned out that I was wrong.
As we drove to church, my son suddenly pulled an SOS on me, saying 'Daddie... Pottie... What?' He was trying to tell me that he needed to use the potty, but I ignored him, thinking that he would get too pressed and just relieve himself. Big mistake.
My son slid into tantrum mode, and I had to make a quick decision to dash out of church and go back to the house for his potty. The road was a long winding stretch of potholes and rocks, but I didn't have a choice.
As we drove, my son made faces that words cannot describe, and I knew that we had lost the battle. The stench in the car was unbearable, and a swarm of flies soon took interest in my car. I was alternating between steering to avoid potholes and swatting flies off the car.
At that point, I asked myself how come we never see flies following these exhauster trucks that dot our roads yet all they carry is poop. It was a question that would haunt me for a while.
After we got home, I washed and changed my son's outfit, and we headed back to church. I was relieved that the ordeal was over, but I couldn't help but feel a sense of regret for not reacting quickly enough when my son first mentioned what he wanted.
As I reflected on the experience, I realized that sometimes, as parents, we need to put our children's needs above our own and not worry about what others think. It's a code in parenting that gets thrown at you when you least expect it.
