Last weekend I was in Florida with my entire family to celebrate my grandma’s 100th birthday. It was fun to have everyone together and as a person who does not have kids of her own, it’s very interesting for me to be around my nieces and nephews and I try to help with them when I can.
While having a family lunch with my grandma at her retirement community, my two nieces, Nicole and Elizabeth alerted us that they needed to use the restroom. This seeemed like an easy task, so I offered to take them. They are 10 and 8 years old respectively, so what could possibly go wrong?
Elizabeth had a more pressing situation, so we let her enter the stall first while Nicole and I waited. Soon after she closed the door and had…um…taken care of business, we heard a very sad “Oh Nooooooooooooo!”
We asked what was wrong and she told us through the door that she had dropped her ring into the toilet. As I stood there deciding if I had the fortitude to reach into a recently-utlized-retirement-home toilet, Nicole sprang into action. “Open the door Elizabeth, I’ll get it.” The door opened and Nicole entered and shut it behind her. All I could think to do was to grab the antibacterial gel in my purse so it was waiting to scrub down Nicole’s hands after the deed was done.
The next thing I heard was the toilet flushing, follwed by “Uh-Oh” and an even more pitiful, “Oh Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!” than before.
I didn’t have to ask what happened, I just knew.
Nicole’s 10-year-old logic told her to flush the bowl first so she would not have to reach through pee to get the ring. The obvious flaw in the logic was that the ring went along for the ride.
Both girls emerged from the stall dejected and I was not much help to them at all as I was doubled over trying to keep from laughing. I was capable of directing them both to the sink so I could watch them wash their hands and that was the extent of my “assistance”.
Back in the dining room, I sat next to my Mom to tell her what happened. As soon as I got to the “toilet flushing” part of the story, Mom burst into uncontrollable laughter. That got me restarted and we were both hysterical. It was tough because the girls were still upset, but soon got over it enough to laugh with us and it became the family joke of the weekend.
Later that day, I commended both of them. Elizabeth for being a good sport despite losing some bling and Nicole, for bravely stepping up to help her little sister. Despite the end result, they both acted admirably in the face of adversity. Sometimes the best intentions do not yield the best results, but it can become a great story!