“I Charge to Babysit My Grandkids. I’m Not a Free Nanny.”

I’ll never forget my daughter’s face when I handed her the invoice.
An actual printed invoice — header, logo, and all.

“Mom… what is this?” she asked, holding it like it was a bad joke.

“The bill for watching Sebastián and Emma this month,” I said, still chopping onions for lunch.
“Thirty hours at fifteen dollars an hour. That’s four hundred and fifty.”

Silence. The kind of silence you could slice with the same knife in my hand.

“You’re joking.”

“Not at all.” I put the knife down and turned to face her.
“Sweetheart, I’m sixty-two. I wake up at six every morning, make breakfast, take them to school, pick them up, help with homework, give them baths—”

“But you’re their grandmother!”

“Exactly. Their grandmother, not their full-time unpaid nanny.”

She looked at me like I’d grown three heads.
My son-in-law, Roberto, who’d been quietly sitting on the couch, cleared his throat.

“With all due respect, Mrs. María… this is a little unusual.”

“You know what’s unusual, Roberto?” I crossed my arms.
“That you both have good jobs, could easily afford a professional nanny, yet prefer that I cancel my yoga classes, my coffee dates, and my entire life so you can save some money.”

“Mom, we never forced you—”

“Of course not. You just call with that sweet tone:
‘Mom, can you watch the kids tomorrow? We have a work dinner.’
Or, ‘Can we drop them off Saturday? We need some time for ourselves.’
And like a good mother, I always say yes. Until today.”

My daughter sat down, stunned.

“I can’t believe you’re charging us to see your grandkids.”

“I’m not charging to see them. I see them whenever I want. I’m charging to be your unpaid employee.”
I took the invoice back from her hands. “Do you know what a nanny earns these days? Twenty dollars an hour. I’m giving you a family discount.”

Roberto rubbed his face. “This feels surreal.”

“Surreal?” I laughed. “You know what’s surreal? My friend María José is in Cartagena taking painting classes.
Lucía’s learning Italian.
All my friends are living their best lives, and I’m here wiping noses and watching Peppa Pig for the fortieth time.”

“No one told you to give up your plans,” my daughter muttered.

“Oh, really?” I stared straight at her.
“So what would you have done last Tuesday when Sebastián got sick and couldn’t go to school?
Or Thursday, when your meeting ran until nine?”

Silence again.

“Mom loves the kids,” Roberto said softly.

“Of course I love them — more than anything. But loving them doesn’t mean sacrificing my time, my energy, and my health without even a thank you.”
I sat down across from them.
“You pay the plumber, the electrician, the cleaning lady.
Why is my time worth less than theirs?”

My daughter’s eyes filled with tears. “I thought you were doing it because you wanted to.”

“I did. At first. But ‘at first’ was three years ago.”
I sighed. “I’ve missed trips, friends, hobbies… I canceled a girls’ weekend in Mendoza because you needed a babysitter. I stopped going to the gym because I’m always exhausted. The last time your father and I wanted to go to the theater, you said you couldn’t afford a sitter.”

Roberto shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe we can… talk about this?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said.
“Either you pay me, or you hire someone else.
Or better yet — organize your schedule so you can take care of your own kids.”

“We can’t! We work!” my daughter exclaimed.

“And I could be working. Or studying. Or simply living.”
I turned back to the stove.
“Listen, I love you. Both of you. And the kids. But I’m done being the convenient, free solution to all your scheduling problems.”

Another long pause.
Finally, Roberto pulled out his wallet.

“Do you take bank transfers?” he asked, forcing a small smile.

“Of course.”

My daughter grabbed her purse and left without a word.
Roberto looked at me — this time, with respect.

“You’ve got quite the spirit, Mrs. María.”

“At my age, son, you don’t waste time on nonsense,” I said.
“Either they value you, or you go to Cartagena to paint watercolors.”

He laughed — genuinely laughed.

“You’re right,” he said. “I’ll talk to her.”

When they left, I sat down with my coffee and opened my WhatsApp group of friends.

“Girls, I need recommendations for a new course. Anything. I suddenly have free time again.”

Messages poured in instantly.
I smiled.

Being a grandmother is wonderful.
But being myself again — that’s priceless.