Best to fess up about grandkid-sitting fatigue

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: We cherish our grandchildren, but now we’re weary of them. The two sets of parents — our adult children — have been bussing their kids out here on the farm with us while they embark on successive road trips to visit their friends. We’ve reached our limit. Our dear grandma and I wish for them to return and reclaim the "brats" (just kidding, they're lovely kids) so we can unwind.

You must be cautious with city kids around the farm, who are unfamiliar with the dangers of getting hurt by an animal or injured by a farm implement. How can we break the news to our kids that it's time to come back before grandma and I ease up? Dear Not Joking: Reach out to the two couples on the phone and express your overwhelming love for your wonderful grandkids, but also mention that your older bodies are feeling the fatigue.

Ask if they could return a bit early. They may have been envisioning everything as perfect. Perhaps they've even been considering you two would be thrilled to keep the little darlings forever, if only you could. The truth is, the parents might be missing their kids quite a bit by now and longing to pick them up early, but didn't want to upset you by suggesting it.

It's time for everyone to be honest and resolve the situation before the kids succumb to homesickness.