When I dropped Jon at the hospital for this appointment, I quickly thought about the task of watching three very active kids in downtown Rochester for 2 hours. It was too cold and rainy to go to a park. The library was an option, but not a very good one. I turned to Tommy and desperately asked if there was a McDonald's nearby with a playground.
"Sure Grandma. It's right next to Toys R Us." There are three places I can get to in Rochester--the Mayo Clinic, Wal-mart, and Toys R Us. Way to go Tommy!
Of course, while I'm on the freeway to the McD exit Tommy announces to the world he has to PEE. Talk about panic city. At 70 mph there was not much I could do but ask the crying boy to hold it while I maneuver through unfamiliar territory. Phew. We made it. It's a great thing he can run like lightning (foreshadowing).
I ordered a well-deserved $1 hot fudge sundae which I savored while the kids ran through tunnels, climbed walls and slid down large tubes. Great fun UNTIL two young, sweet Muslim girls showed up in their religious dresses and hijabs, or head wraps (yea, I looked it up for all my Idaho friends like me who would call it a scarf)
Now Tommy is used to seeing this, but Jack was a little more than fascinated. The two boys began playing Star Wars declaring the two little girls as the Galactic Dark Side characters or something. The pointed-finger ray guns and sound effects began with fervor. I was horrified! Do I make a scene? Do I stop them? Yell at them? Ignore them? Help! Thankfully it only lasted a few round-the-corner attacks before the two Jedis quickly grew tired and began playing another game. I think their moms will have to talk to them.
Then the three grandkids started begging for tattoos. TATTOOS?!?!?!
NO!!!!! Grandma does not like tattoos.
In this particular McDonald's was a senior citizen lady who monitored kids playing while she cleaned. Clean a play area? What a unique concept. Also, if any child did not have socks, the mom could buy a pair for $1. No one played without socks. And, if any young one misbehaved she helped them see a better way. (She was on break during the ethnic Star Wars escapade.) But the most unusual and most popular task were her famous tattoos of pretty butterflies, balloons, flowers, and other objects she drew up and down young, clean arms. Why?
I was solid in my denial until cute little Anna looked at me with her dark eyes and said,
"Please, Grandma. I want a flower." It was all over. I relented.Don't you love Tommy's lightning bolt, Jack's spider and Anna's flower?
The tattoos were drawn with scented markers. We all learned on our ride back to the Mayo that Tommy's smelled like lemon, Jack's like licorice and Anna's like throw-up. It has been an interesting day.
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