I love them dearly but .......

Totally agree with you both ginny and marmight
The time together is so precious when you don't see them very often.
I think the children feel it too.
DGS (2.5) clung to me and cried that he wanted to stay at Grandma's when it was time to go home.
Not sure how he would have reacted if they had actually driven off without him though

Ps I ALWAYS feel sad and miss the family when they've gone and soon forget about the disruption they cause while they're here!!

Sorry my previous post went before I meant it to and I don't know how to edit it:- What I meant to say was I have definitive proof of the opposite of that, she would never have done that had her mother been there.

Also Coppernob, the great advantage of being a grandparent is we can have the joy of being with our grandchildren, but happily at some point we can return to sanity when they go back home.....

I would appreciate it if someone can explain how to edit. I am blind so if there are instructions somewhere I am missing them somehow.

Coppernob you are just like me and so many others. I am feeling guilty for saying no to caring for my 2 year old granddaughter for a few Saturdays a month. My husband is not a well man so l have enough to do as his carer without taking on a 2 year old. Thank you all for actually making me feel better. People have to live their own lives and we live ours. Nice to have them round and great when they go home. X

I adore my 3 grandchildren but I could cry with relief when they all leave. They're gorgeous well behaved children but I just think as I've got older I find it difficult to cope with the inevitable tinge of chaos kids bring to a house. So no you're not a dreadful granny coppernob and if you are there are loads of us about by the looks of it!

Surely everyone feels the same don't they ??

My father used to say that relatives are like fish... they need to be gone within three days.

Glad to see 'em come. Glad to see 'em go !

I tend to agree with my grandfather who used to say "Young people have young children, old people old children"... so no you are absolutely not alone.
Yes, I think GCs play up if their parents are there. GDs are horrible to us when with their parents, especially when their father is there.
Copper be careful that you haven't caught the chickenpox. Also watch out for shingles.
The year I was 40, although I had been told I had had them all, I caught mumps, German measles and chickenpox...

I have 6 grandchildren aged between 2 & 12. I have them to sleep over quite a lot & I love it- even when all 6 come together as they all get on so well.
Breakfast & bedtimes are a hoot but great fun & they play very well together.

Then when their parents come to pick them up I wave & blow kisses until they are out of sight.

Then I come indoors take a deep breath & having carted all the clutter back upstairs I collapse on a sofa & think I'm so glad they have gone! Sometimes there is a G & T involved at this stage too depending on time of day.

Of course we all love having them to ourselves but let's be honest- they are a very tiring & time demanding past time.

Wonderful when they arrive & wonderful when they leave- perfectly natural!

We spent Christmas in England, seeing all the family. We returned to Italy for the new year with DH's daughter and family (her son 15 months and 2 step children,9 &10). After 2 weeks of grandchildren it was nice to get back to normal and have a clean house again!!

Not at all I love mine but one of the reasons it's great to be a grandparent is they go home ?

My mother always said, "it's lovely to see you but it's lovely to see you go" . I completely understand that.

No, sadly when family live a fair distance away (ours were in Australia) when you do get together it is far to intense for too long. When they just live round the corner as ours do now, you see them for a few hours once or twice a week and it's far easier all round

Absolutely NOT a terrible granny!
A lovely Christmas break turned into a marathon chicken pox drama. I think it's great that you're honest.

We have grandson 3 afternoons a week. By 4.30 (especially in the winter) I find my eyes straying to the clock cos I've had enough!

I've experienced the chicken pox drama too. Can't go to nursery until spots stop appearing blah blah. A ridiculous rule. They all caught it anyway.

Happy New Year

silverhippy you can't edit posts.
You can preview them though and edit at that stage, but once you've clicked 'post' that's it.
If you've posted something you really regret, your only recourse is to report your own post and ask GNHQ to delete or edit it.
But remember even if you post something awful, probably not many people will actually have read it, and of those that have, most will have forgotten about it within a day or so

Grandchildren - nice to see them come - nice to see them go.

Thank you all for your support. I knew it really but felt so guilty at breathing a sigh of relief as I drove away from the airport.

This morning, though, I missed my spotty little granddaughter rushing into the bedroom to give me a cuddle. It seems I'm never satisfied!

I have 3 more granddaughters (6, 3 and 1) living locally and I look after them for a day and a half a week. We're now waiting to see whether they all come out in spots too. Could be fun and games ahead but at least they'll go home at the end of the day.

Me too! We had all the children, their partners and 6 grandchildren staying with us for several days over New Year. We loved having them here but it took days to get bedrooms ready, precook some meals etc . While they were here it was lovely but exhausting- the noise, the chaos, the mess, the continuous cooking and washing up, getting up early withthe littlest ones etc. When they all went we spent two hours getting the house back to normal then fell asleep in the armchairs. Im still washing sheets and towels....
But I think Im so lucky compared to people who dont seethe family or who have big rows when they get together. So you are not a bad Granny but just normal!!

We used to descend on our parents with 6 children and stay for at least 2 weeks (they lived near the sea) I remember my Dad sometimes asking how long we were staying! They always came out to wave us off but it is only now that we have grandchildren that I realise how relieved they must have felt to see the back of us! They never let on though and I wish could say to them I now know how you must have felt
We now have 16 grandchildren and love them all dearly but don't mind when we're on our own! And certainly don't feel guilty.

we have a 7 year old for half of every week since her parents spliy almost 6 years ago ,her dad moved home so he would get help with her while he's at work.I love her to the moon and back but I am always happy to see her go back to her Mum /other granny.Its nice to see the carpet for a few days without a layer of books and toys and its lovely to listen to the silence .

We dont see the Grandchildren as much these days as they are older, all in their teens, but when they do come I wish they came to see US, and TALK to us, they come armed with their I phones, tablets etc.I dont let them have these things when we eat, but can do once they have left the table, at least we do get a few minute to talk when they are at the table, I often wonder why they come to be honest, as they arent really interested in us, I surely must be a terrible Gran!

I can see where you're coming from but my GC are so far away, I just let the house go to pot and went out with them to parks and playgrounds while they were here for Christmas.

It's still not straight because I went back to work again on Monday and am chronically tired anyway, and hardly get anything done during the week. We are leaving the Christmas tree up until Sunday because that will be the first time we shall be seeing one of them again this year. Maybe next week I'll get round to cleaning up.

Mine live about 20 miles away, near enough for them to come on day visits, even then I am so pleased to see them but over the moon when they have to leave.. its just the peace and quiet I love, also our house is smallish and we have just two seater sofas, his and hers to strech out on. When we have visitors we have to share!

I love having DGS to stay - it's incredible how such a small person can totally fill the house the way he does - and it always feels so empty as soon as he's gone.

But it equally feels bliss to have my peace and quiet back, only having to wash up once a day, only going out for a walk if I feel like it, and not having to crawl around on the floor playing cars.

The best bit about being a GP is giving them back

I had a friend years ago and her parents used to say when they left, 'see you soon, but not too soon!! I always thought it was a slightly 'off' thing to say, but forty odd years along the line, I can certainly see where they were coming from!!!! My three grandchildren live 45 miles away, so not close enough for dropping in but close enough for day visits. I love them all dearly, but my goodness they do have some energy!! Their ipads are sometimes quite a relief!

We had all the family for a 'gathering' which was lovely and OH and myself up until 1.00am the night before baking and preparing food so we started off knackered. However they didn't stay over with designated drivers in each couple so that at least one of each being able to have a glass or two of wine. It is tradition that we take my DD's 3 children to the panto and they usually stay over. This time it was on NYE. They were tired to start with because they weren't going to bed at the normal time during the holidays. Panto was great and they got all the usual treats that go with it. The next day they were all up by 6.15am! We took them to the park to get some fresh air and they kept going. Finally returned to their Mum and Dad middayish. We went home, collapsed on the sofa and slept for about 3 hours. We find having them stay over these days is physically challenging - I cannot survive without some quality sleep now. I literally cannot wait to hand them back. Love them dearly but there's a limit to our grandparenting