Whew! As the grandchildren drove away at the end of their weekend visit, I sank into the sofa and fell asleep. A deep, exhausted sleep.

Yes, we’d enjoyed our 3-year-old grandson’s intense focus, shooting baskets into his miniature net, as well as our 5-year-old granddaughter’s emerging ability to swim. We laughed at their attempts to love our old Chihuahua, their heads poked under chairs, beds and tables where she wisely retreated. We marveled over their artwork.

However, “the wrecking crew,” as we call them, left their mark. They tossed the pebbles out of our walkway. They threw pillows off the sofa and scattered toys about the house, used only for a moment and then discarded for a new interest. Sometimes their voices were ear-splitting!

The effects of a weekend grandchild visit span from joy and laughter, downright grumpiness and finally collapse. What else do grandparents receive from their awesome efforts?

A 2016 European study found “a positive impact of grandparental childcare on health,” noting that it was particularly true “among grandparents providing lower intensity levels of grandparental care.” Grandmothers benefited the most with better physical health, showing “significantly higher scores than grandmothers who did not provide childcare.” However, the grandfathers’ benefits were not significant.

“Those children need discipline!” fumed my husband regarding our grandchildren’s casual manner of responding to “NO!”

I find my grandchildren’s warm, squirmy bodies irresistible and love contact with them. But my husband finds them tiring as they crawl on his lap, hear half a story, run off and return with a new book.

They wore me out, but I can’t wait to see them, each time filling my heart with love.

“No visits from now until the holidays,” my husband commanded, preferring our adults-only existence.

Our different reactions demonstrate why females receive a greater benefit than their male counterparts. The rewarding mothering reflex, ensuring the survival of a new generation, lasts a lifetime.

Additionally, with lifetimes stretching into our 80s and 90s, children have grandparents longer than any previous generation. According to a study in the June 2016 “Gerontologist,” our long lives bring “added socialization, support and stress.”

Our young grandkids include us in their group of loving adults but tend to lose interest as they become teens, eventually returning to us in adulthood as resources for wisdom and financial support. This long association is rewarding but fraught with unique challenges.

Grandparents want to help strapped grandchildren but may have their own financial worries. Grandparents may need physical help but resent the loss of independence and role reversal accompanying grandchildren as caregivers. Grandchildren, busy with their own lives, may find the type of aid an elderly person needs to be trying and even embarrassing.