I was talking with my Mom and Dad the other day and I asked if they'd been to Savannah yet. My Mom said they hadn't and my Dad spoke up kind of snippy, saying, "We've been to Savannah."
This is a normal conversation with my parents. For the most part, they each encompass the stereotypes of men and women almost perfectly. My Mom is talkative and emotional and never forgets a special day. My dad is cheap and loves sports and hides his emotions better than a boy does his first dirty book.
So we're sitting there and my Mom says they've never been to Savannah and my Dad immediately says they have, looking off to the side like there's no discussing the subject any further. He is man and he has spoken and his word is golden. Mom rolls her eyes, looks at the side of his head, and says in an equally snippy voice, "We stopped to pee at a Hardees."
This is so typical. I remember the trip that year. It was about twenty years ago and we were taking a family vacation to Florida and we stopped off the highway for a restroom break. My Dad sees this as counting toward the "cities we've visited" category in life while my Mom clearly discounts it as a Clark Griswald move. They've not seen the city or the riverfront or the cool old houses or eaten in one of their amazing restaurants … they've seen the inside of a Hardees bathroom just off the interstate, maybe gotten a milkshake as a consolation prize. And as far as my Dad is concerned, they've been there, done that, and that's it. Case closed, next city please.
When my Mom came back with that whole "pee break" thing, I snorted my Coke out through my nose. Not really, but if I'd been drinking a Coke, I would have. And it would have gone everywhere because I laughed that hard.
Growing up, conversations like this in my family were the standard. And now that my parents are in their early 60s, things don't look like they're gonna change any time soon. They are who they are and they seem to be okay (for the most part) with that fact. And I guess that's a pretty good thing. Not only is it special to have your parents still together in today's times, but they're also a perfect source of all kinds of entertaining material.