It had been a humiliating past few months for Katie. Ever since she had made fun of Amy for peeing the bed, she had been dealing with the repercussions. Her own bedwetting problem had returned, she was forced to wear pull-ups again, and her parents had begun to treat her less and less like the 12 year old she was and more like the toddler she used to be.

“Don’t forget to use the bathroom before bed.” They would say. “Are you wearing your pull-ups? Do you need to go potty?”

Katie couldn’t stand being treated like such a child. Especially when she didn’t deserve it. Of the three months this had been going on she only had three nighttime accidents. Still, it was two too many in Katie’s mind, but it certainly didn’t make her a little a kid. However, she was nearly 13 years old, and yet she slept in princess training pants on top of a plastic sheet on a pee stained mattresses. Not to mention the stress of her current situation caused her to start sucking her thumb to cope with the anxiety. She thought to herself, all she needed was a sippy cup and she would be the perfect little 4 year old.

All Katie wanted was to be the grown up like she thought she was, but every time a rain cloud was added to her bedwetting chart, her 30 days in pull-ups would start all over. It was a constant cycle of being stuck as a baby. She just hoped and prayed that the cycle would finally be broken soon, and her parents had gotten her a Christmas present that might help with that.

Christmas morning, Katie came running down the stairs in her pajamas, her pull-up hidden underneath, and planted herself right beside the tree. Despite her few moments of bratty behavior, Katie had been fairly good all year and she was expecting many gifts. And that’s exactly what she got. Both her mom and her dad watched with joy as their daughter ripped open her boxes with childlike excitement and happiness. Moments like this made them rethink how much they truly wanted Katie to grow up, or how much they wanted her to stay their little girl.

As Katie reached the end of her pile, her dad handed her one last box. She opened it to find a brand new alarm clock. But this clock was a bit different than those she had seen in the past. The only number of the face was 12:00 and the rest was all white, open, space. Her parents could sense her confusion.

“It’s a goal clock.” Her dad said to her.

“You write in the open space whatever you’re goal is…” her mom started. “and the every night at midnight it reminds you that it’s a brand new day to accomplish it.”

“It’s to remind you that even if you fail today, there’s always tomorrow.” Her dad smiled.

“We thought it’d be great for you heading into the new year with your bedwetting. It can help you get out of those pull-ups.”

Pull-ups? Katie completely forgot about the childish undergarment beneath her pants. She was too excited about opening gifts that she didn’t even think to change. In a panic she looked down to see the slight bulge of her diaper. That panic quickly turned to pure humiliation when she noticed a slight discoloration on the inside of the leg of her pajama pants and a small wet spot on the rug beneath her. She also noticed the heaviness of her underwear. Her mom followed her daughter’s gaze down and was saddened by what she saw.

“Oh, Katie…”

To be continued…