I've often heard "the best things in life are free". Last week I decided to challenge that statement. It was my granddaughter Makayla's ninth birthday. I have started a tradition with each grandchild, starting on their fifth birthday, that they would have a special one-on-one day with me. They have great, attentive parents who expose them to nearly everything so it is hard to come up with imaginative and different things to do. It seems that most everything advertised that is fun has an admission price. I have found it is the gift of time that matters and time is free. For days I had stewed about what I could do that would be fun. I worried too much. It fell into place. It was a great day to take the red VW beetle convertible with the top down. It is known as "Grandma's Ladybug".

My friend, Katie Smith, is a foster for Siamese Rescue here in the area. I knew she had rescued a mother cat and four kittens from a shelter. What a surprise to Makayla when I took her to play with the four week old kitties. It occurred to Katie and me that today's children don't usually see a litter of puppies or kittens due to spaying and neutering practices. When we were growing up nearly every family's pet had a litter and it was common to see signs and advertisements for free kittens and puppies. These spoiled kittens (Katie's the best) had wonderful toys to share and an hour quickly flew by. We said our goodbyes and made our way to Garfield Park for the Cinco De Mayo Festival (free admission) to get a Mexican lunch. As we drove south, through downtown, we passed the Whaling Wall. This is a mural painted on the Education Building at St. Clair and Delaware Streets. I explained to Makayla that I had come down, in 1997 to watch the artist Wyland create this mural. It was a big deal for the city. Wyland is famous for whale murals around the world. It is his cause to draw awareness to marine life and saving the whales and the oceans. I told her how I watched from bleachers, how he was raised on scaffolding to reach the top of the wall, how vendors were set up to sell his paintings and prints, how the news covered it nightly and how thrilled my mother, her great grandmother, was to go down and watch daily as it unfolded. I told her I have since seen the walls in San Diego, Laguna Beach and Chicago. We continued down Madison Avenue towards our Mexican lunch. Sidetracked again, I had to pull over to the Sacred Heart neighborhood when I saw the steeples of that church. I told Makayla that about five years ago this very old church (1845) had a terrible fire and the inside was completely destroyed. There had been a lot of press on how it had been restored. A man cutting the grass got the keys and gave us a guided tour. He told us of the artisans who came from Italy and Germany to carve the woodwork, repair the organ, clean the marble and replace the pews. Makayla had her 1st Communion a year ago. She held on to his every word. It was breathtaking. We thanked him and went to the old neighborhood corner grocery that is more than a hundred years old. There we got ice-cream cones and then journeyed on to the festival where we got a $2.00 taco and a $2.00 tamale. The face painting and bouncy house were free. The music and dancing were wonderful. The desserts were not. We decided to go to the new Central Library and check out a book on Wyland, who Makayla has decided is her new favorite artist. Of course we had to pass by the Sacred Heart community again so Makayla talked me into another nominally priced ice-cream from the old store since the Mexican desserts were a disappointment. The library is terrific. And guess what? You can see the whale wall from the upper story! The book we checked out was dedicated to Jacques Cousteau. Parking at the library cost $2.00. We ventured away from Broad Ripple but when we returned I was told "it was the best birthday ever". My gift to her was only an inexpensive jigsaw puzzle. Maybe the best things in life are free (or nearly). I would guess that her favorite part was playing with the kittens. Pets make you smile.