A childhood friend of mine has a daughter nine months older than my son. Our lives intersected as adults and our children became best buddies from age three to age nine, until they moved. Her grown daughter lives in Arizona now and I was invited to the wedding. I decided to visit my family in Tucson that same week and persuaded my little sister to attend the wedding with me, since I wouldn’t know anyone else. 
 
Rachel and I left plenty early in order to check in and change clothes at our Phoenix hotel, which was approximately an hour and forty minutes away from Tucson, and then another thirty minutes from the wedding venue. An hour into our road trip, GPS suddenly changed our estimated arrival time and said we were two hours away. I freaked out! Apparently, a big wreck had just happened further up the interstate. There was no way we could go to the hotel to change clothes and still get to the wedding in time. 
 
We found an alternate route to the wedding that would bypass the wreck, but that would mean I would have to change clothes somewhere along the way. My sister had decided her dress was so comfortable that she put it on before leaving her house. All she would have to do was change her shoes. Lucky for her! I wasn’t worried. I figured there must be a lobby bathroom or perhaps a small conference room where I could get ready. 
 
As we got farther out into the rural area where the wedding venue was located, my sister began pointing out old, run-down gas stations as possible places for me to change. Ugh, no thanks. I wasn’t about to drag my suitcase into one of those outside access, “see service attendant for key” bathrooms unless I absolutely had to. I was still holding out hope for a nice place to change at the wedding venue. 
 
We continued making turns on backroads until GPS instructed me to turn down a dirt road. I kept going straight, thinking it was a mistake. We soon crossed over a bridge and the car told us to make a U-turn. We had passed the correct road it seemed, even though we hadn’t seen a hotel or any other buildings. I think that's when I started to worry.
 
We turned the car around and decided to do a drive-by to assess the situation. Immediately, we could tell it was an outside-only venue. As we slowly passed by, I could see the beautiful reception area and the chairs that were set up for the rustic ceremony. It was a dream location for an outdoor wedding. We assumed there were dressing rooms for the bridal party and probably a guest bathroom, but I didn’t see a way to slip in unnoticed with my suitcase and get ready. A few guests were already there, dressed up and mingling. I was in denim shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops. 
 
“Drive! Drive!” I thought, “Quick, before anyone sees us.” We kept going down the dirt road and I’m sure the staff wondered where we were headed. There was absolutely nothing past the outdoor wedding venue but big fields, which was actually a good thing at that point. It was a single lane dirt road and fortunately, we didn’t encounter any other vehicles. 
 
I stopped the car and backed up just a little bit into the brush on one side. It was time for drastic measures. My sister got out of the car and I backed my seat up as far as it would go and proceeded to change into the clothes I had brought. I had to contort myself into the backseat to dig around in my suitcase for accessories and shoes. Long ago, I had been a gymnast and though I was rusty, it all worked out. I touched up my makeup and hair in the rear-view mirror and my “number one” problem was solved. Well, one of them.
 
We had been in the car for two hours and that’s about my limit for elimination. There’s just something about being in a car that makes me need to go to the bathroom. If you are sensitive to this type of information, you may want to skip ahead to the life lesson at the end because it’s about to “get real." 
 
I wasn’t sure about the bathroom situation at the wedding, but I knew that I couldn’t wait another minute. I had already changed clothes in the car on a dirt road a few stones’ throw from where the wedding vows were going to take place. How much worse could it be to do a country squat? 
 
Even my sister was surprised when I told her what I was about to do. She wasn’t raised in Tennessee and has been in Tucson most of her life. On the other hand, I was raised in Tennessee. We will do whatever we have to, when more civilized options aren’t available. 
 
My sister’s last words were, “Watch out for rattlesnakes!” I looked at her and wondered if she was kidding. She said, “Actually, I think it’s getting cool enough now at night that you’re probably safe. Don’t worry, you’ll hear the rattle first.” Somehow this didn’t alleviate my concerns. I know you are wondering so let me answer this question for you. Of course I only went “number one.” I’m from Tennessee, not Arkansas! After I finished, we both put our good shoes on and got back in the car. I managed to turn us around, drive back up the dirt road, park and exit the car. The wedding was wonderful and we had a fabulous time.

 

The spoken intention for this road trip with my baby sister was to make a memory or two. Living in different states, we rarely find an opportunity to hang out where it’s just the two of us. Going to the wedding seemed like our chance to see someone I care about get married and have an adventure at the same time. I just didn’t know exactly what that would entail. Careful what you wish for! 

 

The richest lives have great stories to tell. We are the sum of our stories. Life is too short and would be awfully boring if we did everything inside the lines, all comfortable and proper. Live a little! Live a lot! Laugh often! And watch out for rattlesnakes.