OMG! Is that my kid??

That kid. You know the one. The one screaming at the top of her lungs. The one in the middle of a full on fit. This is only the second time this has happened to me and I have to say all I wanted to do was curl up and hide. I could not believe it. I had no idea how to get it to stop. I was certain others were thinking I was beating her and soon I would be carted off for being the worst mother ever. All I could do was hold my ground and not give in.

It was the night before Thanksgiving and we were in the middle of a long drive to our final destination. We always stop in this particular town in order to use the restrooms. It was late this time so there was only one place still open. My daughter is deathly afraid of the automatic flush toilets since one flushed on her at Walmart while she was sitting on it. I knew this one had one but I immediately tried anything and everything to diffuse the situation in advance. My efforts had failed. The moment we got into the stall and she noticed there was no "handle" it was on. The screaming began. These were screams I was certain everyone within a 5 mile radius could hear. I tried to reason and assure her that I would hold her and nothing would happen. She was not buying it and was determined not to go. I just figured we would be camping there for a while because the only other places I knew would be open also had the automatic flushing. I knew if I left without her going we were certain to have an accident. Needless to say, after much screaming and crying I was finally able to get her to go. It was not easy and I wish I could say the problem was now solved. The insane part was how once she finally went everything changed. She went from being a crazy screaming kid to one laughing and filled with pride that she went. When we finally left the bathroom I made sure she let everyone in the store know she was okay. I was horrified and completely embarassed but there was that part of me that wanted to be redeemed. I know this is not the last incident I will have like this. I just hope with time and patience we can overcome this fear. For now we will always be in search of the "handle".