The other day while at work, I broke down and had no choice but to use the public restrooms. And not just any public facility; the kids’ bathroom at the school where I work. The funny thing is, when I went to use the bathroom, a child walked in after me.

While I was busy trying to maneuver the door and latch system without using my hands, I heard the young lady in the stall next to me begin to line the toilet and thought, “what a smart girl.” However, as an adult, I know that lining the toilet is simply not an option and I would choose to squat.

The thing is, she didn’t hear me line…

And then I started to go. While urinating in a public restroom for the first time in 10 years or more, I started to think about the awkwardness of the situation.

One is to go into the bathroom and tinkle; an act that should be private. But here I was, having the most awkward and longest sissy of my life, and I was doing it next to  a stranger at the place of my business. How weird is that? Certainly I wouldn’t just go into anyone’s living room and start going in front of strangers and yet, it felt as if I was out in the open… making.

Embarrassed by the lengthy process, I stalled even longer to avoid eye contact with the child who I actually felt was thinking: that teacher didn’t line the toilets.