Where to Take Grandma When She Visits

Knowing I would have only a couple of hours to visit my daughter and grandchildren after driving three hours to West Frankfort, IL, Keeley wanted to come up with ideas for how to entertain Grandma (me) during the time I would spend with her, Wesley, 13, and Jeremy, 10.

I've never visited her for two reasons – I'm allergic to all the pets she has owned and – I can't see well enough to drive at night.

Even though the animals are outside the home now, I still have to wait for the dander to disappear (allergists claim it can take sometimes up to a year) before I can spend the night. Until then I will have to drive back and forth.

Keeley decided we should go to the mall and have lunch. Great. I was starving. But what about after lunch? I could have stayed at the mall, but Keeley wanted to do something a little more exciting.

I know, Keeley thought! Let's take Grandma to the prison!

WOW! That really wouldn't have been my first choice, mostly because it would never have entered my mind to entertain myself at a prison, but I was curious and, like I've always said, it doesn't really matter what I do with my kids and grandkids as long as we spend time together.

But I had to wonder what would we do there – look at all the inmates in their cages like we would animals in a zoo? And that's when Keeley told me it was a jail museum, but it was kind of far and I had to leave soon, so we decided to save The Franklin County Jail Museum for another trip.

Maybe I should rethink the whole, "I don't care what we do as long as we're together" thing, but Keeley assured me that it was really interesting.

Next on our list of things to do was leave my signature on a check. Jeremy's school is selling popcorn as a fund raiser. And he was quite insistent that I sign his popcorn form. This kid is quite the salesman. He never let up. He carried that form with him to the car, and asked me numerous times if I wanted any popcorn.

Finally, after his relentless pressuring, I asked (in my most incorrect English), "Who do I make out the check to?"

Anybody who knows Jeremy knows that he can't help but laugh at himself. So the second he started laughing I knew something funny was about to happen.

"Oh," he laughed, "just make it out to my best friend, Cash."

(Photo is of Wesley, 13, and Jeremy, 10.)