Big boy potty

I have made an effort to write every day this summer, and when I got up this morning, there was a space in the back of my mind that wondered if I would have anything worthy to tell when the day drew to a close.  My father has been feeling sick, and I had a plan to check on him this morning.  If he was unable to eat or drink without further difficulty, I planned to take him to a hospital.  This isn't the stuff of a great story.  It's just kind of a bummer. 

When I got to my parents' house this morning after Dallas traffic tacked 15 minutes onto my usual trip there, I was ready to enforce my ultimatum.  Dad had to drink some water and try to eat something, or he was off to the hospital.  He rose to the occasion- if only slightly.  It was water and a graham cracker, but it was progress.  Late in the morning, he decided to fill a prescription to see if he could improve his results.  I volunteered to go to the pharmacy and pick up the medicine.  As I drove through the parking lot with the medicine and a few groceries, I saw something that I didn't have the heart to photograph.  I can only describe it. 

There was an SUV with the back popped open while a young, blonde soccer mom talked on a cell phone and paced behind the vehicle.  She was vaguely elegant in her motions, walking in a path behind the bumper of the vehicle, then returning the other direction.  Her dress was long but casual.  Her hair was shiny and well maintained.  Inside of the back of the vehicle, there was a plastic potty training seat facing outward, and on that training throne, a young blond boy was seated with his pants around his ankles.  He was using the potty training seat.  In the back of a vehicle.  With the hatchback open. 

I'm gonna go ahead and let that sink in.

Young toilet-user-in-training was looking at the parking lot from a wide-open hatchback while attempting to use the potty to...  umm...  potty. 

So many questions.

But these are the best ones my family and I were able to conjure after much discussion and great contemplation:

• Will this young man associate the vehicle with the activity?  Will all cars, trucks and SUVs become fair game?
• What happens with the contents of the "seat" when he finishes?  Does mommy drive around with a plastic chair full of waste?
• Was the bathroom at the store so very frightening that this was the best option?

That was the very most entertaining thing I saw today.  In other news, Dad is eating food again and starting on the road to recovery.  The count for the day when I left was a whole lot of water, a banana, an apple and two graham crackers.  He would have been a lousy traveling companion in his current state, but I am confident that he is well on his way to fine again. 

So as not to neglect my mother, my brother and my future sister-in-law, I made some cocktails while I was at the house.  I couldn't focus all of my energies on Dad.  It's not fair. 

I'll head back tomorrow, but later in the day, now that I know Dad is able to manage food again.  I'll probably spend the morning at my house, appreciating my big-girl potty and keeping the trunk of my own car closed.