This is not the most recent time, but it is what came to mind for this prompt.
A little while back (before Covid, so it was a while ago!), Mr. FG and I stopped at Walmart to buy something.
(Which is a little odd. I almost never go to Walmart because I just don’t like the Walmart shopping experience.)
Anyway.
I had to use the bathroom and when I walked over the one entrance was blocked for cleaning.
So, I figured it was like a travel stop bathroom, with two entrances, and I went in the left one.
I noticed there weren’t many stalls but didn’t think too much of it.
And it wasn’t until I was IN the stall and heard someone walk into the bathroom that I realized: I’d gone into the men’s bathroom!
Which definitely explains the lack of stalls.
But there’s nothing to explain how I managed to see past the urinals on my way in. My powers of observation are apparently lacking.
I stayed in my stall, frozen, desperately hoping that all the men would leave. Eventually, the bathroom cleared out and I successfully made a run for it.
I kind of think I skipped the whole hand-washing thing in my rush; at the time, it seemed more important to disappear quickly from the bathroom.
I’m not only an introvert and daydreamer, I’m self-conscious and not a fantastic translator of what’s in my head to actual speech. Thus, I live in kind of a perpetual state of embarrassment. I’m constantly tripping over words, or bungling a phone call, or standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, or not knowing the latest village facts (that sometimes seem a little more like gossip than facts) and then making a massive faux pas as a result. It’s a thing. It’s a good thing my dream is not to be a leader. I’d never make it. lol.
But I’m just not sure that compares to using the men’s room at Walmart. That’s something. Eek.
Oh, Kristen! My heart stopped with anxiety when I read your post. It’s embarrassing and kind of terrifying!! It’s a very, very long story as to how this happened (to do with switching the “Men” and “Women” signs in the middle of the night) but the short of it is that, in my 30s when I was a teacher at a music camp in Wisconsin, I ended up accidentally showering in a men’s bathroom in the college dormitory where they housed all the teachers for the week. It was one of the longest showers of my life trying to find a time to make a break for it! Of course, with all the teachers being up at the same time trying to get in the showers, there was no clean break so I had to just step out (in my robe, of course!) and walk past the men lined up at the sinks shaving. Embarrassing but, thankfully, it made a funny story each year when we returned to camp! It was shortly after that that the teachers were housed in a local hotel in private rooms with private bathrooms! Lol.
Oh man, a shower is worse than just a bathroom!! Oof. Good thing you had a robe with you!
I can’t think of anything because I’m just laughing too hard. Actual tears. Sorry. I hope I can say I’m laughing _with_ you?
That doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of embarrassing things for me; maybe I block them out?
I was totally laughing about it as soon as I left the bathroom! I was only panicking while I was still in the stall. Ha.
I’ve recently begun online dating after getting out of an 18 year marriage. The whole process of trying to connect on some level with pretty much a complete stranger is embarrassing
Well, I think I am the opposite of you, Kristen. We used to go to NYC about once a year just to go to live theater (those were in our very high income days and we were also living in bush Alaska so didn’t have plays to go to). One time I got so mad that the line for the women’s bathroom was dozens and dozens of women long and no line for the men’s room, that I just marched into the men’s bathroom and used one of those stalls. When I caught a man giving me stink eye as I washed my hands, I said, “Male architects did not give women enough bathrooms. You are paying for his sins. Get over it.” And I found that once I had done that once, I didn’t care about doing it every time the same issue came up. No shame.
My most embarrassing moment was years ago, when we went to my husband’s Christmas party. I seldom wear dresses but this time I bought a lovely dress. Too bad that when I went to the bathroom I did not check to see if my dress was caught in my pantyhose as I was rearranging myself from using the toilet. I marched out into the group with my front anatomy visible from waist to ankles. I was fortunate that a woman practically flew across the room to stand in front of me as a shield while she told me what I was showing off. These days I must check my clothing 25 times before I leave a bathroom! I apologized to my husband repeatedly for being an embarrassment to him in front of his workmates. Bless him, his reply was, “well, whoever saw anything was probably envying me being married to such lovely flesh.” He is such a liar but it made me laugh.
Lol, that was the funniest story I’ve heard in a long time! Sounds like something that would happen to me, truly!
This made me laugh! When I was younger, I worked as an extra on tv and movies, and once I got paid extra to bring my dog. It was fun and I enjoyed getting to bring my dog to work. My dog was a retired greyhound, so I always needed to be watchful because spooked greyhounds can run 45mph, so you don’t want to drop the leash!
It was all great until I had to use the restroom. I was stressed about leaving the dog, and finally decided to loop her leash on a fence so I could use the restroom. I ran to the trailer bathroom, hopped up the stairs and finally got relief- then I heard men’s voices! I sat in the stall realizing I had gone into the wrong bathroom. I was stuck, and it didn’t seem like it was ever going to empty out. The bathroom window was tiny- so I couldn’t escape there. I finally made a run for it, eyes on the floor, apologizing all the way out. Reading your story made me feel less alone in my goofy error!