You take advantage of Gran. She looks after your child and wont even take mine at the weekends.
There are moments in life when you just have to find a quick fix for a problem. Thats exactly what happened to me.
My son is four now. Hes absolutely perfect in my eyesthough I wouldnt say hes a model of good behaviour, but then, what child is? They all have their mischievous side. Ive got another on the way, and thats really where this story starts.
At my latest checkup at the doctors, I was told I needed to go straight to hospital. There were complications, something to worry about. There was no putting it off, so then the big questionwho would look after my son?
My husband was away on business. He wouldnt be back for another ten days. My parents both work full-time. We had no other family nearby. In the end, my grandmother stepped in and offered to help. She said shed look after my son until I was discharged. Shes seventy, and my son is quicker than lightning, so Ill admit, I wasnt sure how it would go.
We settled on a plan. My parents, since they work for a private company, said they could come by in the evenings and keep an eye on their grandson. During the day, grandma would take charge. And that was that.
Still, I couldnt get rid of my worry. Its my son, after all. But there werent any other options. I kept calling grandma, checking how things were going. Oddly enough, she and my son found a rhythm together, managed to get along brilliantly. The week flew by, and once my husband returned, he took control for a while.
I was nearly ready to come home when my sister rang at the weekend, absolutely fuming. Her little girl is only two, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldnt persuade gran to look after her. Gran refused, saying her granddaughter was much too young.
My sister tried pleading, practically begging. Still, grandma wouldnt budge.
Youve taken advantage of grandma! she said to me.
I replied, I was in a really tough spot. Its not as if I could take my son into hospital with me. I even asked you for help, remember? But you said no. Now you want to send your daughter to gran so you can have a break and a cup of tea? Dont you see the difference? Besides, is it fair to expect an elderly woman to run around after a toddler all day? Leave her with her parents.
They dont want to look after her, my sister fired back. And I have to do it all the time!
But honestly, I think my sisters in the wrong. Theres a big difference between a two-year-old and a four-year-old. If I had any choice, I wouldnt have left my boy with relatives. Still, my sister insists Ive taken advantage of our grandmother. The way I see it, the circumstances just werent the same.
