At 80, I’m not your average grandma. I do puppy yoga, roller-skate, and can keep up with twenty-somethings better than some of their friends. But the thing I loved most? Spending time with my grandson, Jason. I watched him almost every day while my daughter-in-law, Kelly, “ran errands” or went out with friends.
But at my birthday picnic, Kelly decided to make a point. Jason suddenly vanished. I panicked, jumped on the pink scooter he gifted me, and raced through the park. After a frantic search, we found him—hiding under a blanket. Jason innocently admitted: “Mom told me to hide from you.” Kelly had set me up to look incapable, just to prove I was “too old” to watch him. But I wasn’t going to fight back with anger—I had a plan.
I quietly met the new nanny Kelly had hired, offered her a full month’s pay to back out, and spent the summer with Jason myself. We had an incredible time—baking, exploring, playing—and video-called his parents every day.
When they came home, my son Jack finally realized the truth: I had been raising his son all along. As for Kelly? She saw the truth too—but by then, I was too busy sharing rocky road ice cream with Jason on the front porch. Never underestimate a grandma with a scooter and a plan.