Faux Pas in Ft. Lauderdale

I've had the wonderful opportunity to do some traveling for work lately. About a month ago I got to go to a sales meeting for one of our affiliate companies. The meeting was in Delray Beach, Florida. Sometimes you just have to make sacrifices.

I presented during four breakout sessions at the meeting. After finishing my first session, I went to go eat lunch and prepare for the next session. While thinking about my next presentation and trying to calm a little bit of nerves, I decided to slip into the ladies room in the hotel lobby for one last visit and mirror check. I had a lot on my mind at this point. What should I do differently in this session? Should I leave out the ventriloquism part this time? Was my entrance to "This is How We Do It" a little much?

As I came out of the stall, I noticed two things. 1) That sure is one masculine woman standing in front of the wall. 2) Why are there urinals in the ladies room?

Panic.

What's a girl to do when she not only enters a men's restroom, but proceeds to actually use it and then exits to find a man in action? I faced the following options:

1) Quietly go back in the stall. I could always stand on the toilet so no one would see my heels, but there is no telling how long I would have to wait if men kept coming in. Risk involved: I could miss my presentation. Or fall in the toilet.

2) Pray that Jesus comes back right that second. Downside: I would be in a men's restroom when Jesus comes back.

3) Don't think at all and draw as much attention to myself as possible: run out of the bathroom, hand over my eyes, and say "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry..." Risk involved: Man hears a girl's heels and voice and sees me. Impending embarrassment is certain.

You guessed it: I chose option 3. In my defense, I really didn't have time to weigh all of these options at the time. As it turns out, the man in the restroom was the person I had been presenting with the whole time. He was such a good sport, and had I had the choice, I couldn't have chosen someone kinder or more understanding to meet in the men's restroom. We had a good laugh about it.

Before I knew it, the story started to "leak" throughout the company. People were asking me about the "incident." Some asked if I needed help finding the ladies room. But the worst zinger of all was: "Brittany, did you wash your hands?" Of course I didn't; I had much more pressing matters at that point. I think this has brought me just as much shame as the incident itself.

I quickly realized that this story would follow me for the rest of my career/life. I've accepted and embraced it. I thoroughly enjoyed the week, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to meet such gracious and fun people. I obviously learned a lot...

...and now I'm proud to be one of the boys.