GRANNY STATE DIARY OF A FIRSTTIME GRAND MOTHERER (IT’ S COMPLICATED )

This week: Granny finds that looking after Rose has its, you know, benefits…

Before I became a granny, I’d read articles about the secret army of grandparents who looked after their children’s offspring for free. At the time I didn’t give it much thought. Now, wherever I go, I find that I am part of a growing trend. But it’s no surprise that caring for grandchildren has taken off like this: the role allows us oldies to escape from our own lives.

Take the other day. I was dashing for my train, returning from one of my London trips, when I spotted a grey-haired old lady struggling with her case. After helping her on, we fell into conversation. “I’ve been looking after my four grandchildren,” she announced chirpily. “I go up for a week every month to give my daughter a break.”

A whole week? Much as I love looking after Rose, I’m more than ready for Aga, dog and Newish Husband after my 12-hourly, twice-a-week stints (plus overtime).

“I love it, dear,” she said with a twinkle. “When my husband retired, he was always under my feet. But now I’ve got a rock-solid excuse to leave him.” She gave me a playful nudge. “And the best thing is that he’s quite romantic when I come back, if you know what I mean.”

Actually, I did. When I married NH, he’d just taken early retirement. So we’re with each other a great deal. Much as I like this, I’ve also found that I enjoy “playing house” at my daughter and son-inlaw’s. There’s something surprisingly satisfying about cleaning someone else’s house during Rose’s nap and loading the dishwasher without being told I’m “doing it wrong”. And I suspect NH enjoys some space, too…

That’s not the only plus. Spending time with Rose means I revert to my inner child. Our current favourite game is “splashes in the puddles” with our matching spotty wellies. The toothy grin on Rose’s face when she soaks us both more than compensates for the extra hours I’ll need to put in that evening to keep up with my work deadline.

Talking of work, there have been a few times recently when I’ve had to turn down events because of granny commitments. That’s fine. The older I get, the more I understand that family is more important than anything. But the other day I realised I was due to give a writing workshop on a Rose day. “Bring her along,” urged the lady in charge. “The group will love it.”

However, Rose fell asleep en route, so NH, who was along as backup, stayed in the car while I went in. Cue disappointment all round. “We were so looking forward to seeing her!”

When I got out, I found Rose at the steering wheel. “She woke seconds after you left,” beamed NH. “So I’ve taught her to change gears. Look!”

It was true. In fact, Rose had enjoyed herself so much that she burst into tears when we put her back in the car seat.

The following night we babysat. Rose’s television is so big and complicated that it looks as though you need an HGV licence to operate it. We tried to find our favourite drama, but the mechanics eluded us. Then the lights went out. Where were the trip switch and the torch? I couldn’t even find my mobile. Rose started to yell from the nursery.

Suddenly, all I wanted to do was go home…

‘There’s something surprisingly satisfying about cleaning someone else’s house during Rose’s nap’

Next week: Has Granny become too interfering?