The worst ones were those whose minds skipped directly past that and right to the insults. Stupid. Retard. Baby. The idea that an otherwise completely normal girl might not have the ability to control when she uses the toilet was a totally foreign concept to them. Once they catch sight of the diapers, they have to assume that something else must be wrong with me as well.
Despite my experience with these situations, I couldn’t help but begin to cry. I think the woman noticed, because afterward she lowered her voice and whispered to her daughter, who went running back up the beach. Petrified, I remained seated on the sand. I wanted nothing more than to get away from the beach, but to stand up would mean to provide those strangers an even better view of my diaper than they had already gotten.