Another Meg-ism

I sometimes refer to my children as my "material," and here's a great example of WHY.

Last night we were driving home from a family gathering and Thomas suddenly needed to make a pit stop. We were right by a winery Matt's dad works for, and we knew there was a very nice restaurant right there with a bathroom accessable by the back door -- a quick in and out and we'd be on the road again. When the guys returned, Matt chuckled about a little encounter they had with a patron of the restaurant while waiting for their turn at the urinal.

 Did you know that in some upscale restrooms they install a TV at eye-height in front of the urinals so the guys don't have to miss a play in the game? Apparently there was some college football game on and Thomas said, "Look, Daddy, your game!" The man looked at Thomas and Matt and began to ask rather slurrily, "Who you rootin' for? You a 'hio man, or you for USC?"

Matt thought it was funny that there was an exchange of any kind in the bathroom, which as a woman I find funny -- I have had all sorts of great conversations with perfect strangers in restrooms all my life. Another example of vive la diference, eh?

From the backseat Megan gave a little chuckle said, "Why didn't you just go to another one?" ~ meaning another stall, since this one was occupied.

This opened a short discussion about stalls versus urinals, and Matt added, "And this restroom happened to have just one urinal. We were just waiting our turn."

"Oh, I call those Gertrudes," Megan said.

There was a short pause as Matt and I looked at each other, and then we both said, "What do you call Gertrudes?"

"Urinals."

Another pause. Then in stereo: "Why?"

Meg shrugged. "Oh, it just seems like the right thing to call 'em."

Indeed.

And I just call them material.