Like walking into a wall…

I was just in the bathroom at work. I know, that seems like a little TMI to share but it happens (if ya know what I mean). But that’s not the end of the story, there’s more…

There is one bathroom for each gender on my area of the floor. There are about 10 women in my area and 60 men. It doesn’t seem fair to the men but it’s the only place in the world where the men are the ones that have to wait in line (besides maybe NASCAR events… just a guess). Anyways, I rarely run into any women in the bathroom and typically have all 4 stalls available to choose from. Now, being a somewhat claustrophobic person that I am, I always choose the handicap stall, if it’s available. (I enjoy the ability to turn around without getting my hair caught on the door's coat hook, so sue me!)

(No, don't actually!)

Side note: Why do so many of my work stories come from bathroom experiences? (Click here and here.) Strange. I hope it's not because my work is so boring that the bathroom really is the most exciting place in my office. No,... no, that couldn't be it.

To help illustrate my story, I’ll provide an illustration (After all, I feel an illustration is the best way to illustrate a story).



Also, please note that when a stall is occupied there is an indication on the stall door. Green means go (the stall is empty), red means no (already occupied)! And, note that ALL of the stall doors remain slightly open when they are unoccupied. Hence, you have 2 indications of whether or not a stall is occupied.

So, now for my story. Like I’ve said before, I rarely see another female in the restroom (and luckily I’ve never seen a male in the restroom) so I typically walk straight from the entrance door to the wheelchair stall, which I did today, mentally taking note that none of the stalls were occupied. I was “taking care of business” and heard someone else coming in. I heard them walking down the aisle on their way to a stall when suddenly I heard a “thud” and the trembling of a metal stall door. I looked up to see, luckily, that my stall door was still securely closed, but there were two shoes (and some legs) wobbling just on the other side. I tried (and succeeded) in holding back my laugh as the two shoes, seemingly perplexed, paused a moment more then quickly turned and walked straight back down the aisle and out the bathroom door. Seriously, someone walked straight into my stall door, ignoring 2 warning signs that the stall was occupied. I waited until the bathroom door closed behind her and then chuckled, a lot, not very silently but not very loudly, either, to myself. After a few minutes (or rather seconds, I don’t just sit in the bathroom all day) I was still chuckling and I started thinking about whether or not I was going to wander around the office until I found the woman with those shoes so that I could mock her endlessly (only in my head, of course) or if I would take the high road and help the poor woman get over her embarrassment by not seeking her out.

As I left the restroom (still chuckling) I took the long way to my desk but I did not see those shoes or the woman whose feet filled them. And even now I’m wondering… how did this woman not see the warning signs? Was she in such a hurry that she wasn’t even paying attention? And if she was in a hurry, did this little incident cause her to have an accident? (Many of the women I work with are very advanced in their age and I hear “accidents” can occur when they get scared or frightened.) And did she then walk all the way downstairs to use the restroom or did she just hold it?

But I think we can all learn 2 lessons out of this:
1 – Watch where you’re walking
2 – Pay attention to your surroundings.

Poor woman, she passed 3 empty stalls!

Forgive me for laughing, but even now I just can’t stop!