Eye Vitamins and Fiber

Every weekend, my Mom and I trade off taking my Grandma grocery shopping and running errands.  This past Saturday was my turn.  I was irritable and she was argumentative.  Not a good way to start.

The first stop at the grocery store was the vitamin section.  She was upset that she had missed the vitamin sale earlier in the week so she was going to have to pay full price.  She'd find what she needed and then make me figure out which one was the most economical.  The last vitamin she needed was Lutein.  She was told by her doctor that she needed to take this since her mother had macular degeneration.  Lutein is very expensive.  My Grandma was very upset about this and let me know it.  She told me I need to be taking this stuff, too.  I told her that I asked my eye doctor if I needed to take it and he told me that there would be absolutely no benefit.  My Grandma's response was, "Well, was he an actual Opthamologist because my Opthomologist is the one who told me we need to take it."  There was a very childish tone in her voice.  I said, "Yes Grandma.  He was."  She was not pleased.  The pharmacist was holding back laughter.  I think she knew I was right.

After the vitamin argument, we continued on to the groceries.  My Grandma usually has her grocery list pretty well organized.  She did not organize this time.  I was running all over the store getting stuff for her and getting very frustrated.  The pre-made margaritas and daiquiris strategically placed on displays around the store were looking very tempting.  We entered the cereal aisle to get my Grandma's Fiber One cereal.  She was complaining about the price but said she had to get it because her doctor told her she needs to eat it every single day.  I pointed out the store brand fiber cereal that looks like twigs and told her that if she gets that and puts her morning fruit in it, it would be just as good as the Fiber One and would be half the price.  I pulled it down and showed her that it had 14g of fiber and no sugar.  She said, "That's not as much fiber as Fiber One."  I yanked down the Fiber One and in a short tone said, "This only has 11g of fiber and 7g of sugar.  The cheap stuff is better for you and much cheaper."  She snatched the store brand out of my hand and threw it in her cart.  There was a man standing behind her.  He was laughing at us.  A lot.  I'm glad we could entertain someone.

Two hours after arriving at the grocery store, we were finally in the checkout.