This past weekend, we took on perhaps our greatest parenting challenge yet – potty training!

One of Chloe’s greatest gifts is her adaptability. She takes change in stride and we’ve often found that she handles the “cold turkey” method of just about every shift we’ve made pretty well. Solid food? We just started feeding it to her. Pacis? We just tossed them one day.

However, potty training felt bigger (and messier) than our previous endeavors. I knew Chloe was ready for it – she was very interested in the potty and, on occasion, would request to sit on the potty to pee (and even poop once!) But I was still dreading the weekend, imagining my floors covered in undesirable liquids and solids, a fussy toddler running around and potentially spreading said undesirables in her wake.

However, as with all other things, Chloe was totally fine with jumping into the potty training process and did so with enthusiasm. We did the “Oh Crap” method, a favorite amongst toddler parents, where you essentially take three days to train your toddler. Day 1, you keep them naked and prompt them regularly to use the potty. With no physical barriers, it’s easy for them to sit down and try to go at regular intervals. Chloe did really well that first day, with only a couple of accidents. However, she was peeing every 15 minutes, which made me nervous thinking that we may never leave the house again if this kid is emptying her bladder that much.

If day 1 goes well, you move to day 2 – basically the same thing, but with loose pants on. Day 2 started a bit more rough. Introducing pants is a new sensation and can give them a sense of security that they lacked with no clothing. However, she started to get the hang of it, and by the afternoon, she was doing great. We even went on a walk in the neighborhood, where she confidently used her travel potty while sitting in someone’s driveway, watching the neighbor mow their lawn. God bless toddlers and their complete lack of self-awareness or shame! Most importantly, she started to pee every 1-2 hours, a much more manageable cadence.

Day 3 was the big day where we would venture out with our pants and test the limits of the bladder and her ability to communicate her need to “go”. The morning started well, and she even had her first poop in the potty. Rob and I were ecstatic, with Rob saying that it was one of the top moments of parenting so far! I would have to agree.

Afterward, we headed to the park and even made it to Home Depot to pick up our pumpkins and fall flowers. After a bit of prompting, Chloe went pee in her travel potty while sitting in the trunk. Again, totally unfazed by the pubic display of urination, and she even said “hi” to someone who passed by. God, she’s cute.

Overall, it was a very successful weekend, and Rob and I both agreed that it went much smoother than we anticipated. Chloe will, of course, still have the occasional accident as she is still learning, and nighttime potty training is a ways off, but I am so proud of how well she has done.

Because we were engrossed in potty training, Rob and I were largely off our phones/disconnected from the goings on in the world. However, on Sunday morning, Rob checked the news and saw that Israel was under attack by Hamas militants who were raiding towns, killing civilians, including women, elderly and children. Because we live in a digital, real-time world, videos were circulating from people on the ground, showing the horrors of what was happening – a complete disregard for human life.

As a mother, I feel a kinship to all other mothers out there, and my heart broke as I learned of the atrocities that were taking place. My biggest hurdle that weekend was teaching Chloe to use the potty, while these people were wondering if they would survive another day or if they would ever see their family members again. It is also made all the more acute with a husband and daughter who are ethnically Jewish. Antisemitism continues to plague the world and I shudder at the thought that someone would hate, or even worse – harm, the two most important people in my life simply because of their lineage.

Things are continuing to unfold in Israel and the Gaza territory, and as I balance my mental health with my desire to stay informed about what is happening, I count my blessings that I get to hold my family tight every night and don’t have to worry about whether I will see them in the morning. These terrible happenings really put things into perspective – what’s a little pee on the floor, really?