Discovery

The Four Bears set out on Friday night for our very first family tent camping adventure. (More to come later). We had to pack the car extra tight to get all of the items needed for 2 grown bears and 2 cubs to survive 2 whole days in the wilderness (read: everything but the kitchen sink, and only because it was bolted down).

So, in order to get everything tucked in the vehicle, I decided I needed to do a little light "housekeeping" in the car. And that is when I made a horrific discovery.

Let me back up a little.

The Four Bears Den doesn't travel on the road well (just read here if you need a reminder). So, Mama and Papa Bear like to waste as little time as possible while driving. And that means, no unnecessary stops. Brother Bear, on the other hand, loves unnecessary stops. Way back when he was potty training, he realized that he could get Mama and Papa Bear to stop the car immediately by simply saying, "I gotta pee!" Slowly but surely, we got wise to his little tricks and put a stop to them.

Enter, the pee cup.

Yes, you read that right. When we travel long distances I put an container with a lid in the car for the express purposes of the "urgent" tinkle. This genius idea saves us at least 30 minutes on every road trip. When we arrive at our destination, I simply empty and wash the container and return it to the car for the next time.

Or, so I thought.

When I was cleaning out the car, I noticed that one of the 45 cup holders in our car had something in it. Assuming it was something else, I grabbed it to throw it away and that is when I discovered my horrible mistake.

I know, you're already there aren't you? I can hear you groaning, and squealing, and retching. Because that's what I did.

I was holding a container of old urine. Did you know that urine can go bad? I could have gone my whole life without knowing that little nugget!

The really, really, awful part of this is: I'm not exactly sure how old that pee is.

Best case scenario: our family vacation in August.

Worst case scenario: our return trip from the Land of the Bears in July.

I. AM. MORTIFIED.

I'm thinking of having the car detailed, just in case.