Monday, March 01, 2010

Soaking Up Pee


A thrill to steal away for the afternoon to catch up with the girlfriend and her 3 y.o.  We hopped into Canelé for desserts because the little girl loves her sweets. She picked out the Mont Blanc for herself. Make no mistake- that was her cake and she wasn't about to share very much of it. Her mom had to select something else for herself.

The little girl was so focused on eating her cake that she forgot to tell us that she wanted to pee. So she simply did what most children do when they forget about peeing, they pee wherever they are. She left a gigantic puddle on the floor.

We didn't over-react. We simply rolled our eyes and got to work. I grabbed the serviettes to soak up the pee and dumped it outside in the bin, asked for a mop dipped in disinfectant and then cleared the puddle. Yes, you read right- I mopped the floor, not the servers. The girlfriend sorted out the wet shorts, cleaned the little girl up and put her in dry clothes. Luckily her new shoes weren't wet, the chair wasn't made of fabric and little children's pee doesn't stink.

Did I feel apologetic? Just a little. But not overly so. We've a child out with us, toilet-trained, but still an excitable child. So accidents do happen. Importantly, it's what we do after that takes away the embarrassment. We apologized to the diners next to us who had just finished their plates of pasta. They were absolutely gracious about it and took it in stride. They weren't turned off or anything. In fact, they seemed rather tickled. They even ordered dessert after. Whew. I thanked the cafe's floor staff profusely for wanting to help and allowing me to mop rather than insisting.

After being put into dry clothes, the little girl giggled at us, pointed to the remnants of on her plate and stated loudly, "Can I have my cake please?" The girlfriend and I roared with laughter. We tsk-ed at her. Oh dear us. The girl's got her priorities right. But she was quite sheepish about it. She called her Daddy and confessed that "[I] she pee-ed on the chair." If I'm in a swanky restaurant (that allows patrons below six years old) and this happens, I'd do the same- roll up my dress, get to my knees and simply clean up. No biggie. Pee can be washed off diamond rings rather easily.

15 comments:

Dawn said...

Also, you'd get your food spit in if you asked the staff to clean it up :) It's kind of like at the vet - you're asked to pick up your pet's poop or pee after you - but they of course provide you with the mops and stuff.

imp said...

dawn: now that, one of the reasons why i don't have pets is because i can't stand the smell of their pee and poop. i think i don't love them enough to want to clean up!

Dawn said...

Ah HAH! So what does that say about little girls??? :)

Yuling said...

Wahaha, this conversation thread between you and Dawn is funny!

The little girl has got discerning taste! And yes, very good sense of priority! And I certainly hope you'll never have to clean up after R! Heh.

mochalatte said...

I'll choose pee over poo poo...haha..! I can't stand myself changing diapers in future..omfg~ :S
at least she's well-behaved than tos sprawling bawling kids..and by showing responsibility is a must (with capital M) to ignorant kids & parents nowadays too..

imp said...

dawn: don't feel so gleeful! it only says that they're easier to clean up than my old folks. that is ahemmm, i admit, tougher. still, i rather give my time to the old folks than have my own brats. so there.

yuling: ignore dawn! you'll have to take R off diapers eventually, so definitely 3 or 4 cleaning up projects needed!

mochalatte: usually, people who choose to have kids ought to be responsible over them. sadly, most aren't.

MG said...

You are unusually understanding towards such situations. I seriously doubt any of my girlfriends would do this.

mochalatte said...

yup..!! young parents are gone case now..! no point having tons of kids if u can't afford to plan properly or organize serious matters from their education fees to taking charge of the household...without the 'in-built' commitment & responsibility now, having a 'bundle of joy' is a cruel joke, which Asian nosey parkers misinterpret most..aha..!

lovexiaolongbao said...

my sense of shame disappeared the moment i became a mother. these things don't bother me anymore. haha.

imp said...

MG: no leh, i find it quite usual. i'm surprisingly unfazed by these things and annoyed by others. Hah.

mochlatte: yup. it's always a huge commitment, be it pet, kids, house or whatever.

lovexlb: the skin has grown thick! hehehe.

coboypb said...

It shows how much you love your god-daughter too :)

Dawn said...

Dawn is not feeling the love, Impy.

Jo said...

It's love that made you do that! Love for the girlfriend, and for the god-daughter.

tuti said...

i see 'ang-mohs' cleaning up after themselves more often than the locals, who tend to think that service people are paid to do all that.

imp said...

dawn: comecome. will show you our love via all sorts of OTHER ways!

coboypb + jomel: heh. really? i clean the toilets of my old folks- i'm fond of them, but i don't love them! i do love my girlfriends. but i haven't bonded with their children yet. i'm fond of my god daughter, but i haven't learnt to love her yet. i don't love on sight. need time and actions and blah blah blah.

tuti: that's why a kid is a great responsibility. u might not have to do everything urself. but the kid's actions are your responsibility, so it all depends on how one deals with it. *shrug*