July 16, 2008 | Filed under: Stuff
I was sitting on the sand, plotting, working VERY hard (I was so!) when a young mom and her daughter came walking up the beach. The little girl tugged at her diaper and yelled “CHANGE ME!”
The woman looked at me with embarrassment but hey, I wasn’t about to judge. Especially when it reminded me of the first time I ever talked to my then Harlequin editor. I had Youngest sitting on the pottie doing her thing when the phone rang. It was my editor offering me my first contract. I was trying not to hyperventilate, when from the bathroom, Youngest yelled “MOM, WIPE ME!”
Yeah. I guess everyone needs a little humility in their life.
Posted by Jill @ 1:00 am | Make a Comment
Judy F says:
LOL nothing like a kid to bring you back to reality.
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 2:47 amElizabeth K says:
As long as the mom didn’t lay her down right there in front of you to do it, I’m cool with that!
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 3:33 amStacy ~ says:
Yes, kids bring reality crashing back with a very loud THUD. But I know you wouldn’t trade ‘em in for anything…not even cookies.
Now get back to writing, sister *g*
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 3:35 amMelissa's Cozy Teacup says:
Last night, I noticed a HUGE spider on the bathroom wall. Tech Hubby is not here to squish it for me. The only poison we have is the wasp and hornet stuff that shoots 20 feet. My bathroom still smells like poison this morning. I guess one shot instead of three would have worked, but he was still moving-fast and I just couldn’t take my chances!
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 5:39 amDee says:
Melissa, if you spray a spider with hairspray or Windex he will die. We keep a can of White Rain hairspray for just such occasions. They die slower but they die. Of course, my daughter sees me kill an insect or spider and she will weep for the inhumanity of it…
I am SO glad I adopted older children and didn’t have to deal with diapers! If my kid could say clearly “Change me!” my response would be to hand them the diaper and say “Change yourself!”
I would not have won Mother of the Year. LOL
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 6:22 amDee
Ang. says:
Amazing how one can look back and laugh now but at the time….well..that is a whole other story. I still think my daughter is my greatest blessing even if she causes me to do this
sometimes. 
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 6:25 amTreasia Stepp says:
Love Dee’s answer. I would do the same myself.
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 6:41 amAshley says:
Yeah, I can sympathize, I’m going through potty training right now with my 3 yo, he’s finally getting the hang of it but refuses to go number 2 in the potty, so I get yelled at alot to “Change Me, I stink”!!!
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 6:44 amPatty L. says:
When my husband asked me to marry him, my daughter yelled from the bathroom that she pooped. I remember saying “yes” and then excusing myself to go help out my toddler.
Lucky for us he’d been there since she was only 4 months old, so he was used to our crazy life. LOL
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 6:45 amCasee says:
I love this! I’ve actually written down things my daughter has said so I can remind her about it when she’s a teenager (something I’m so not looking forward to).
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 6:57 amLiza says:
My first response was “change yourself” too. Guess I wouldn’t ever win any mother of the year awards either. Of course, with my 3 nieces, I’ve heard “wipe me” more than once, especially with the Youngest. She is 4 and calls me for everything.
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 8:18 amSuzanne says:
Children are so helpful, LOL.
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 8:32 amPatricia says:
Jill, I chuckled at your story, because I remember my son couldn’t get into nursery school until he was trained. He used to say, “here’s my diaper, here’s my pins, I need changing”. &, I said to him, “anyone who can say all that, should be doing it himself”. However, one day he just walked into the bathroom, took off his training pants, aimed for the toilet bowl, & never had an accident afterwards. My Pediatrician said that boys are much slower to be trained than girls, & that the “training” they receive before age 3 is really the parent being trained, not the kid. Of course, this was 40 years ago, so, maybe, things have changed–LOL.
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 8:36 amKarin says:
I absolutely love that story, Jill. Kids have no shame in stating exactly what they need, much to the parents’ chagrin. My niece, who is 4, still yells for someone to wipe her after #2. Oh, and the kicker is that she’ll tell you exactly who she wants to help her - daddy, auntie, grandma… It always makes me laugh when she chooses, unless it’s me.
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 8:50 amJill says:
The funny thing is, we’re not allowed to tell this story in front of Youngest. If we do, she won’t speak to any of us for days. Man, that girl can hold a grudge . . .
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 8:54 amAngie-la says:
Which brings to mind a story about Spawn 2. He was about 3 years old or so and we were at a place called Discovery Zone…a chain of entertainment facilities featuring games, indoor mazes, slides, and ball pits. So the place was packed with kids and parents. I thought the DH was watching S2 and vice versa.
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 9:52 amJust about the time mild panic set in, the men’s bathroom door opens and S2 waddles out with his pants and pull up around his ankles and declares in a very loud voice, “Daddy! I need you to wipe me!”
I was laughing so hard…along with about 30 other parents.
The DH says, “Your son needs you” and walks off! So, I took him into the ladies room and cleaned him up.
We talk about that incident frequently even though it was about 13 years ago…and it doesn’t bother S2 one bit. Unfortunately, he seems kinda proud of it!
Susan says:
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 12:59 pmBrandy says:
Kids are nuts. Maybe that’s why we love them. *G*
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 1:09 pmCryna says:
Kids can give us the biggest reality checks and say the darndest things at sometimes not the best times.
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 1:53 pmDonna M says:
So glad all that is behind me. Potty training was different when my kids were little. By the time they could demand that I change them they were out of diapers & the second daughter was not easy to train!
Great story, hope you got back into your train of thought and kept writing.
I couldn’t get onto your website earlier today, then daughter #1 called & then I was gone most of the day!
Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 5:37 pmTerrie v. Baarsel says:
Reminds me of one of my own personal moments of clarity. The exact milisecond in time when I fully realized: “I am a mother.” It came as I was holding my nursing infant with one hand, wiping my 2 year old’s butt with my other hand, while my 4 year tugged at my shirt repeating, “Mommy, I’m hungry! Mommy I’m hungry!”
Is there anything quite like motherhood?
Posted on July 17th, 2008 at 8:16 amAmy says:
I threw a party the day I stopped wiping butts.
I’m convinced that once you become a mother and/or pet owner, PMS stands for Poop Management Systems.
Posted on July 18th, 2008 at 8:56 am