I thought the torrential downpour that hit me today on my drive home would re-flood the whole state of Iowa. Apparently it hasn’t as I’m still not floating away. I was on my way home from my dear friend Beka’s wedding in Floyd, Iowa.

The wedding itself was absolutely wonderful, very emotional (I don’t think anyone made it out dry-eyed.), and so very “Beka.” I could elaborate a lot about the wedding, the people, and my new friends, but the funniest part of the weekend happened on the way home in the downpour. [note: to see pictures from the wedding, click on this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=50958&l=86740&id=501872177]

I have been trying to drink lots of water lately to stay healthy. I have found the easiest way to keep chugging water is to have a large bottle of water on hand at all times so I carry around a 33 ounce water bottle with a squirt top. I went to the bathroom several times today, including right before I hit the road to come home late this afternoon. About 30 minutes into the drive, I had to go to the bathroom [again], but I was determined to hold it and drive home. After all, I didn’t have to go that bad.

After I hit Waterloo and was on the stretch from Waterloo to Cedar Rapids, I suddenly ran into a rain cloud of extreme nature. It just *bam* started raining so hard that I couldn’t even see to drive. Of course, the urge to go to the bathroom was getting stronger so I kept driving anyway, but finally knew that I couldn’t keep going since I couldn’t even see the white lines on the road anymore. I pulled over to the side and sat there for 10 minutes. I kept praying, “Jesus, make it stop raining so I can drive to a gas station for a bathroom.” As the time kept going, my prayers got more urgent. “Jesus, please make it stop raining NOW because I have to pee like mad!!!… Seriously, I’m going to pee my pants if you don’t make it stop raining.”

It kept raining.

By this time, I was in serious pain and knew that I couldn’t go very much longer. So, despite the impaired vision, I pulled out and drove for a few more miles. There were no exits, gas stations, or rest areas. I weighed out my options: a) pee in the car on my seat or b) pull over in the rain and pee by the road. I was somewhat rational about it because I knew that it was raining so hard that any cars driving by wouldn’t be able to see me since the rain would provide practically a curtain around me.

So, I pulled over, opened the door, immediately got wet, and chickened out, closing the door and thinking it through again. A or B…B or A. I took a deep breath, opened the door and ran around the car so that I was near the grass. Before I even got into position, I was drenched from the rain, but by this time, the whole situation was so funny that I couldn’t help but just laugh.

Since this whole bathroom thing had been brewing by now for over an hour, it took me over 4 minutes to get it all out! I thought I was never going to quit peeing. At this point, I modified my prayer to, “Please, God, make it keep raining because if it stops right now, I will be a sitting duck here for everyone to see!” Finally, I decided I had gotten rid of enough that I would hopefully be able to make it home for the rest. I got back in my car, shivering, wet, and miserable, but relieved and sat by the road for several minutes trying to compose myself.

The rain didn’t let up for at least 15 more minutes, and even then it was still raining very hard. I carefully drove home and when I got here, 45 minutes later, I was running inside again for the toilet. Perhaps I should cut back on water intake while I’m driving.