My sister is about to become a grandmother for the first time and is totally over the moon. I am so happy for her, but concerned that her enthusiasm may be getting the better of her. She knows her DiL plans to go back to work at the end of her maternity leave and sis (who is due to retire in a couple of years) is thinking about retiring early and offering to look after her GC. I am not sure she has really thought through what she may be taking on. My friend did the same thing and is now totally exhausted as GC1 was swiftly followed by GC2 (who will be starting school next year) but another daughter is now pregnant with GC3 and has asked her Mum to look after her baby and my friend feels she can’t say ”no” as she has already done it for the first two GCs.
It is totally my sister’s decision and I wouldn’t dream of trying to tell her what to do, but I do worry that she and her husband may regret taking on such a responsibility at a point in their life when they can finally relax and enjoy themselves. They will be coming to stay with me next month (we don’t live in the same country) and I hoped some of you grans who have looked after their GC can suggest some gentle questions I can ask along the lines of “have you considered …………” just to encourage her to think it through carefully before making this commitment. She is good with young children and I am sure she will do a great job, but she is a strong character and very much the matriarch of the family and one of my concerns is that she may find it difficult to accept that with her DS and DiL’s child she will have to do things their way.
Good Morning Thursday Maundy Thursday 28th March 2024