Has the recession changed the way you think about money?

Oh, dear - I have to confess to dropping off quite often in the evening, so much so that I have taken to recording my favourie programmes so I don't miss them. I know you are not supposed to need as much sleep when you are older and I wake at 6 a.m. , quite refreshed and rested, but round about 'Countdown' the eyelids begin to droop. I think an afternoon nap is one of the great joys of retirement!

Harrigran

Mine has slept through match of the day, yet again. Trouble is he will be wide awake when I am getting into bed

Mine's fast a-shush-a-byes in the armchair.

Some people do have exciting Saturday nights!

She'd have been up for it, that granny-a.

I think it is terrible when boys get girls drunk to have their way with them.

Well, if if you will put it on the net.

If it really was that special.

Busted!!

My OG should be so lucky.

"just had a minor celebration with my husband"

Is that what they're calling it these days?

Good for you granny-a.

Greatnan, just had a minor celebration with my husband and accepted a third glass of bubbly.......life seems quite mellow. hic

Good on you Greatnan Brought tears to my eyes too.
We never think, do we, when they are children, that we will go on worrying about them and supporting them when they are fully-grown adults (I've had so much pain and heartbreak with my eldest daughter too. Depression, health issues, job loss, attempted suicide)

And SuperNana ... love this quote via you:

Sir John Mortimer in his own words...

'The meaningful and rewarding moments aren't waiting for us beyond the grave, or to be found on distant battlefields where history's made. They can happen quite unexpectedly, in a garden perhaps, or walking through a beech wood in the middle of the afternoon. If we are to have religion, it should be one that recognises the true importance of a single moment in time, the instant when you are fully and completely alive.'

I live by this philosophy now, and I am content with life, despite business-wise and financially the past 2 years being complete cr@p!
I have confidence that the wheel will keep on turning, and soon life will be on the 'upside' once again, rather than the 'downside'

Wouldn't it be boring if life was predictable

Thank you Annobel. I don't drink on my own any more, other than one glass of wine with my dinner, but my son in law is a very generous host and it would be rude to refuse that second...er third....glass of bubbly.

Enjoy your champagne, Greatnan - the NZ version is as good as many of the French ones. NZ wine is more than palatable! A lot of it is as good as it gets. The Pinots are specially good. I was going to say I envy you, but no. I can't envy someone who so deserves to have a lovely Christmas with her family.

Cheers! There will be a bottle of champagne chilling when I arrive, flowers in my bedroom and a special 'welcome' meal. New Zealand wine is very palatable!

Dear, wise Greatnan. Thank you.

Greatnan. You deserve every moment of a very happy retirement. What a great Mum you are! Enjoy your Xmas in NZ! Here's to you!

It made a lot more sense for me to go into rented accommodation than my daughter and her family. I was very happy in my little house in the Pyrenees (I like mountains!) but after all it was just a house and I have lived in many, many houses. It had two bedrooms, a good sized garden and a little pool, and I couldn't afford to buy anything similar because of the drop in the value of the pound. However, my one-bedroomed flat is very cosy, with a fabulous view from the balcony, and it would be difficult to maintain the garden and pool now I spend two months a year with my other daughter in New Zealand.
I am a great believer in wanting what you get, rather than getting what you want, and I have no regrets at all.

Greatnan it would be lovely to agree that you 'only did what any mother would do', but actually you don't have to go further than GN to discover there are many mothers out there who would NOT have done what you did. I am sure that you had pleasure from helping out, but that's not to underestimate the cost. (And I don't mean the purely financial cost; the sleepless night's mentioned and the anxiety.......) your daughter has justifiable cause to be proud of her lovely mother. You deserve .

Thank you all - of course I only did what any mother would do for her child, but it is nice to be praised for it!
My daughter's sanity was saved by the birth of her first grand-daughter. When we knew my DGD was pregnant it seemed just one more disaster but it has turned out wonderfully well
They now have a second lovely little girl and are saving hard to get married, which seems to be the way things are done today. My DD had to make a huge effort to get up, bathed and dressed and drive over to see her daughter and then to be cheerful around the children. Sometimes, if you have to pretend to be happy, you find it is becoming true.

"Women Hold Up Half the Sky", as Mao Tse-Tung once said.....

greatnan - I think you've been holding up more than your fair share recently, so I am pleased to read you're going to have a marvellous time in NZ with your family at Christmas.

(((huggies))) coming to you from The Wirral Greatnan you deserve them you are a superstar.

Here's a bundle of hugs from the other side of Scotland too, Greatnan. What awful experiences. Very best wishes for a lovely Christmas with your family.