I’ve mentioned before that part of our geocaching ritual is that the day always ends with a trip to Sonic for a limeade. Well, a limeade for Nana; the kids always manage to talk me into buying them a milkshake or some cheese sticks or some tater tots. I’ve taken to getting a large diet limeade, drinking part of it and taking the rest of it home so that I can stealthily add some vodka. Oh don’t judge. The kids have already gone home before I pour.

The other day, Kaiya, Mylee, Cole, and I went geocaching. It was Kaiya’s idea, and Mylee and Cole were both reluctant. They were perfectly content watching The Babysitters’ Club on Netflix. I told them they were welcome to stay home with their papa while we geocached. Perhaps fearing he would put them to work, they elected to join us. I feel confident in saying they were happy with their decision because we had a really good time. We found three for four.

After words, we followed our tradition and went to Sonic. The drive-thru line was quite long, but we were patient. At some point I remembered that my purse was in the trunk, which is not accessible from the inside of the car. “Never fear,” I told them. “After we move ahead, I will get out of the car and grab my purse out of the trunk.” This I did. I got back in the car and moved ahead behind the car in front of me. It was at this point that I realized that I had driven past the box where you order the food from the invisible person.

I looked sheepishly at Kaiya, who I knew would roll her eyes, while trying not to let me see that she was rolling her eyes. Internal and imaginary eye-rolling. “Oops,” I admitted. “I have to go around again because I missed where we needed to order.” I pulled out of line, not looking at the car behind me because they had already seen me leap out to get my purse. They had also undoubtedly seen me drive past the ordering box. They, too, were probably rolling their eyes.

I got back in line, and eventually we placed our order. A medium limeade and some mozzarella sticks for Kaiya, a medium limeade slushy for Mylee, and a small strawberry milkshake for Cole. “Don’t get me chocolate,” he said. “I don’t like chocolate.”

If you were to give me truth serum, I would be forced to admit that it isn’t the first time that I have done this same thing at this same Sonic but with different grandkids. Oy vey! I don’t know what it is about the location of their ordering box, but it appears to flummox this nana.

I told my sister Bec (who is currently visiting us) this story, and she gave me a very sisterly and comforting response. “The quarantine is messing with our minds,” she said. “And our minds are old, so they don’t need messing with.”

I’m going with that.

When their dad heard they had gone to Sonic, he said, “Let me guess. Kaiya got a limeade and cheese sticks, Mylee got a lime slushy, and Cole got a strawberry milkshake.

He knows his kids.