Having a grand day

I’M not asking for a fairy godmother, but a granny would be great. Since our much-loved and wanted little daughter arrived, I’ll admit I sometimes long for a cheerful, bustling grandmother to turn up and utter the magic words ‘I’ll take her for half an hour’ — just so I can have a long, leisurely shower or pop out to meet a friend for coffee.

But, for all practical purposes, the other half and I don’t have a granny between us. My mum passed away more than 20 years ago and his lives an ocean away, in Michigan. But she visited for a week last month and there were mornings when — having closed the sitting room door on Grandma and toddler playing happily within — hubby and I nearly danced our way to the kitchen, giddy at the prospect of an uninterrupted conversation while washing the breakfast dishes.

But when my mum-in-law mused that, if she lived nearby, she’d love to take her grand-daughter for one whole day a week, I had to change the subject — being teased with might-have-beens was just too much. !