Is that in my job description?

This is the 1st in a 3 part series documenting our family adventure last week. The stories are likely to get progressively more exciting so stay tuned.

About once a month, the symphony travels out of town overnight to bring classical music to 4th graders all over the state. When this happens, Brian gets his own hotel room. The kids and I decided to meet up with him and make a mini vacation out of it since he mostly has free time.

While the kids and I wandered the quaint streets of little New Bern, NC, we stopped in at the birthplace of Pepsi. Elliott was immediately excited about the greatest souvenir ever invented for 3 year olds: the penny press! There is just something magical about putting a penny in, turning the wheel for a long time (a really long time when your mom secretly doesn't put the money in for a good couple minutes, drawing out the excitement and anticipation, while she looks at the post cards and Christmas ornaments) and then hearing that clink of a newly defaced coin!

Then Elliott needed to go to the potty. Wouldn't you know in this town that relies on tourists, every shop door greets you with a No Public Restrooms sign. Sigh. I finally found an office building that had some blessed bathrooms. Alas they were locked! Like a ticking time bomb moving our feet, we headed for an elevator to look on the next floor and I asked the man waiting for the elevator if there were any restrooms on the 2nd or 3rd floors. "Oh I'll just say I know you and you can use the restrooms on my company's floor." He smiled and told the receptionist, "They're just going to use the restrooms," and she looked at him, annoyed. Elliott went in the one seater by himself since there was no room for Lily in the stroller and me. I hear Elliott humming and then I hear him say through the door, "Oh no my penny!" I opened the door and went in and shut it, leaving Lily in the hallway to fend for herself with the receptionist. The precious Pepsi penny was sitting in the toilet bowl filled with "peeps" as we like to call it. What to do what to do? Do I dare flush it, risking 1) Elliott having a meltdown in the already annoyed receptionist's waiting area and 2) plumbing problems for this toilet we shouldn't have been using in the first place? Telling myself, "Just do it quick," I reach in and grab the penny, and immediately thoroughly wash it and my hands in the sink. "Why are you washing my penny?" "Just hurry up!" Is retreiving objects from the toilet in my job description? Add another star to the belt on my mom jeans, Batman. I earned it.