Raising grandkids

I get the Weekly every week and read the articles about the Grandparents of the

Year. Whereas I agree that the people chosen were great, spare a thought for all the grandparents raising grandchildren. These people do all that those winners do and more. Grandparents raising grandchildren come from all walks of life. The struggles they face every day range from emotional to financial, to sheer physical exhaustion. I am raising just one grandchild; many have to raise four or five. We feel fortunate not to have the financial difficulties that many have – some can’t retire as they need to keep working to suppor t these children. And there is also the judgment, comments like, “If you raised your own children properly, then it wouldn’t happen.”

The association Grandparents Raising Grandchildren is a wonder ful support and my pur pose in writing to you is to suggest adding a category next year of Grandparent and More, because that’s what we are.

The winning letter receives $100. The other letter wins a copy of Woman in the Wilderness by Miriam Lancewood (Allen & Unwin, RRP $36.99), which follows the author living wild in the New Zealand bush.