Imagine this: an entire year spent handing money over to our son and his wife so they could pay off a loan! Ive decided not another penny from us!
So, my husband David and I have just one child, our son, whos now grown up with a family of his own yes, were grandparents these days.
I grew up in England in the late seventies, when things were still quite traditional I didnt get married until I was thirty, and back then, people acted like I was destined to be a spinster! Honestly, there was such pressure to settle down and have children straight away. If you didnt have kids, people looked at you as if there was something wrong with you.
Anyway, David and I decided wed just have the one child. Were both university educated and we know raising kids isnt cheap. The more you have, the more you need to spend simple as that.
So we stuck to our plan, and as a result we were able to give our son, James, a really good upbringing and education. We got our own lives nicely sorted too.
But James, as it turns out, sees things completely differently. He married his girlfriend Emily quite soon after finishing uni, and before long they had our first grandchild. They didnt manage to buy a home right away, so they took out a hefty mortgage. Somehow, month after month, it got paid. Then we find out Emily is pregnant again. Naturally, I asked how theyre planning to juggle two little ones and a mortgage. They werent too pleased with my questiontold me theyd cope. So I thought, fine, if you say so.
For ages, they really did seem to manage alright. Then Emily couldnt work any longer because of the baby, and then James got made redundant. What else could they do? They moved into our little flat wed been renting out. Then David announced hed help them with the mortgage. And that was thatDavid and I spent a whole year covering their mortgage payments. I honestly felt we were doing the right thing, being good parents and grandparents, you know? Seemed like the least we could do.
But get this recently, it turned out they were actually six months behind on the mortgage. So where on earth did all the money go? David is absolutely livid, says he cant take any more of this. Im in total shockjust lost for words, really. We tried so hard to help, but James and Emily just took it all for granted, lounged around, and left us footing the bill. So what do we do now?
