Only Queens get a Throne:

When you are the Queen, you get your own throne! About 29 years ago we had a commercial tenant improvement project that was pivotal for our company. It was set to be our first million dollar project –converting an apartment building into condos. We were a painting subcontractor for a major general contractor in the downtown area of Seattle. At the time of this project, our team was fairly small and the management team was just myself and another – the rest of the crew were in-field painters.

Now this project was so large that it required an onsite, full-time project manager. I couldn’t afford to take any painters and move them into the project manager position. In order to meet the demands of the project, I became the onsite, full-time project manager. I ran the job site during the day and in the evenings and on weekends I would handle the “business” end of things from the office. Over the years I have encountered many situations where I am the only female in the field, on the job or bidding on a certain project. However, this was a unique situation because  I was the only female on the job site, and I was pregnant with my first child. For any first time mom’s out there, can you imagine going through your first pregnancy full time in an environment of all men? Yep, such a circus!

Almost 30 years ago, job sites were not set up with separate restroom facilities for men and women, there were just one or two temporary  toilets for general use by all. I personally feel like I can do a lot in life, but Honey Buckets are not my favorite at all. So in the beginning of the pregnancy (before it was obvious), I would take my break time and walk to a local coffee shop to use their facilities. As the job site progressed, so did the pregnancy and there came a point there was no hiding it. One week after the job site safety meeting, the general contractor’s project manager asked if he could meet with me privately. I knew what was coming, but wasn’t sure how everything would shake out. We were standing off in a corner of the parking garage; the PM was uncomfortable as he made “small talk” with me waiting for the opportunity to confirm my “condition”. After several awkward moments, I told the project manager that I was indeed pregnant, but that it would not affect “our” (the paint teams’) performance on the job. He was a wonderful man and was not concerned about the paint team’s ability to perform, but rather wanted to help me by making a special accommodation for my “condition”. At the end of the conversation, he smiled and said he would have a big surprise for me in the morning. Upon arrival to the job site the following morning, there in the parking garage of the building, at the end of the line of the other Honey Buckets was a fresh, brand new ADA (handicap – extra wide) Honey Bucket just for me. A sign was taped to the door of the Honey Bucket, “The Throne for the Queen” and a lock on the door. Of course, all the guys’ onsite got a big kick out of the new “Throne Room”. I made my way up to the PM’s office and thanked him for the “private bathroom and he said he was happy to help. When I asked him why an ADA (Handicap) unit, he smiled and replied, “I not sure how much bigger you are going to get”.

It was a race to see what would finish first, the job or the pregnancy. Technically the baby was due before the project was scheduled to wrap up, but baby was 9 days late, therefore the job completed before the paint team’s project manager had a baby. Our team of professional painters did an amazing job to maintain the quality of painting while keeping on the aggressive project schedule despite their “oversized” project manager. Until the next funny story in the Adventures at Wheeler Painting and Restoration Services, be well and do good.