How To Make Sure Your Teenage Granddaughters Never Want to Spend a Weekend With You Again!

It all started when we found out that Jordan and Morgan's family vacation on the Jackson side was cancelled. They had already spent Friday with me---a little shopping for dresses in the morning (both girls are invited to a family wedding with their boyfriends---twins---Cameron (J's) and Carson (M's)---isn't that cute---dating identical twins? Then we met my friends, Connie and Karolyn for lunch and a movie ("Grown-Ups"---very funny, but you have to like really goofy movies). Butch would have picked them up after the shopping, but they wanted to go to lunch and the movie. They like my friends which I think is pretty high praise. The girls were going to be leaving pretty much as soon as I dropped them off after the movie. We were standing in line to buy the movie tickets when they got the call. Morgan was happy as she wasn't thrilled to be going, but Jordan was disappointed.

Later Friday night, Morgan called to ask if I would take her and her friend to a party on Saturday night. I asked if her mom had told her "no". That's when I found out the girls were going to spend Saturday night with us. Steph was going to be out-of-town leaving Saturday morning and hadn't called us yet to see if that would work for us. I'm always the last to know what's going on.

I went over to pick the girls up at 3:30 p.m. Morgan's friend, Addison was with her (she's spending the night with us too). Morgan asked if I'd pick up another friend on the way. Not a problem---except when I got to Savannah's house, there were 3 boys there that also piled in. Morgan whispered that she didn't know the boys needed a ride. Right away, I start thinking of all the back ways I could go to avoid seeing any policemen since I had 8 people in a car that only seats 5. I was a nervous wreck---I'm a major rule follower. I dropped Jordan by the house first and then delivered all of the kids to the party. I'll be picking them up at 10---Morgan's curfew.

I felt pretty bad for Jordan, because---what a bummer to have to spend a Saturday night with your grandparents. Her boyfriend is out-of-town. She wasn't complaining or anything, but to make it seem like a little more fun, I made her favorite supper---grilled cheese with tomatoes. She requested a dessert, so I made some fancy brownies. She wanted to watch a family movie, but Butch convinced her to watch a rock and roll dvd a friend lent him. You can imagine how much she's enjoying that---along with Butch's "blow by blow" commentary---Chuck Berry, Leslie Gore, The Beach Boys, James Brown---he keeps saying things like---"these are the guys that invented rock and roll, Smokey Robinson started the Motown sound, James Brown is the godfather of soul," etc. Which then lead to the critique of the clothes, dancing and hair. When the Beach Boys sang Little Surfer Girl, I had to tell her the story about my first "necking" party. Ronnie had taken me to this party where he set me up with a guy. I was so upset when we got home---mom hit Ronnie and yelled at him for taking his sister to a party like that. Oh, the memories....

I then told Jordan that that same boy ended up being my boyfriend about 6 months later. He's the one that took me to his homecoming dance but failed to tell me that it was semi-formal. I showed up in a plaid skirt and sweater. Talk about embarrassing. She remembered me telling her that story, but laughed at it again anyway.

Anyway, just about the time I'm thinking she'll do anything rather than have to spend another weekend with the "grands", she says, "see, we don't have anything classic like this---just all black music." I couldn't believe it. I asked her if she was really, really enjoying this show. She said that she really was. Unbelievable!!!

I'm telling you, Jordan and Butch have the sweetest relationship. I just love to see them together. They are sitting on the couch playing online poker together as they watch the show. Over the past few weeks, they've been fishing and tubing. Plus they share a love of the classic car auction show. He's promised to take her to one sometime.

I'm starting to think that just maybe spending the weekend with us isn't a fate worse than death after all. I guess I'm thinking of how I would have felt if I'd had to spend a teenage weekend with either one of my grandparents. We think we're cool. Maybe the kids think so too. At least that's what I want to believe.