Explore stories from Atlantic Canada.
Bad grannies have roles of nickels on hand for gambling with the older ones. - Janice WellsIt’s the end of July and a summer highlight is done; another Grannies’ Week has come to an end.
The first year, we had five of them between the ages of four and nine, and there was a newborn left behind. This year, the week started with five little angels between the ages of seven and 13 and ended with four between the ages of four and 13, with a two-year-old left behind. The best thing about being a grandmother is that you don’t have to be so serious about bringing them up right. You did all that with their parents when they were children. Now it’s their responsibility to bring them up to be good people and yours to have fun with them. It’s marvellously freeing.
And while we’re on the subject of food, good grannies serve nourishing, well-balanced meals; bad grannies have lots of frozen pizzas, chicken strips and French fries on hand and give up on the vegetables after the second night. Some might think a good granny doesn’t drink alcohol in front of the children. We have one of those, but she doesn’t drink period, so it's not like she’s sacrificing, which is just as well because that would not impress the other two, who never miss a happy hour but make sure to tell the children that drinking is not good for you.