Woman & Home

Meet the MODERN GRANNY

As the old song goes, There’s no one quite like Grandma, and it has never been more true. The 2020 grannies have ripped up the rule book to make the role their own.

Notions of wrinkly ladies with permed grey hair and slippers are long gone. As uber-granny Lady Violet Crawley, played by Dame Maggie Smith, declared archly in TV’s Downton Abbey, ‘Just because I’m getting older, I see no necessity to eat off a tray.’

Today’s grannies are more likely to be found in a Zumba class than knitting a cardie. They’d rather drink prosecco than a nice cup of tea, and rocking in a chair would make them feel queasy after a night on the town. Gone are carefully handwritten letters; to catch up on news, they’ll FaceTime the grandkids.

Many juggle full-time work with regular childcare, while maintaining a marriage, social life and gym membership to boot. Others sacrifice their own career or prospect of peaceful retirement to bring up their grandchildren themselves. They’ll never know how it feels to

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