When Quentin Bryce was sworn in as Australia's first female governor-general in September, one of the more joyous images from the day was the celebratory picture of two of her grandchildren spontaneously throwing their arms around their nanna and hugging her so tightly that it seemed their little arms might break.
Bryce's pride in her five young grandchildren was evident when they stole the show at the official announcement of her new position some six months earlier, which allowed the media to get away with dubious titles such as Grooviest-Granny, Grandmother-General and GG-Granny.
As the nation's most recognised grandma, her polished demeanour is a far cry from the stereotyped greeting-card image of a grey-haired woman in a cardigan, peering quaintly over horn-rimmed glasses, knitting needles at the ready. That image must certainly puzzle her grandchildren and their contemporaries. After all, today's grandmothers are a world away from such an outdated stereotype.
While previous generations of women might have been expected to settle into a quiet, domestic old age, the current ones have categorically broken that mould. As psychotherapist, writer and grandmother of seven Jill Curtis points out: "What happened to mothers a generation ago is happening to grandmothers now and of course it's the same people it's happening to. Life has opened up for us and there are work and leisure opportunities that there have never been before but we've got a big role in family life too and it's fascinating to see how we're juggling all that."
No previous generation of grandmothers has contained such a high percentage of women who either worked while raising their children or returned to work when they had grown up. As a result, many of today's grandmothers are women at the very top of their careers, more likely to be locked in a boardroom or speaking at an international conference than gardening or watching television.
"I know plenty of grandmothers who carry pictures of their grandchildren in their briefcases," says Curtis. "Women in their 50s and 60s are often at their career peak but they don't want to miss out on being a grandmother. It's like a second chance and they know how quickly the early years go by, so they're even more determined to make the most of it. "
The emotional impact of being a grandmother is as intense as it ever was.
Curtis says meeting her eldest grandson for the first time blew her away. "It's hard to say why - after all, I'd had three children of my own. But this was like touching immortality, like seeing what life was all about, what the point was," she says.
Writer and broadcaster Miriam Stoppard was also struck by the strength of her bond with her 11 grandchildren. "One of my granddaughters, who I'm especially close to, is quite simply the love of my life," she says. "When I go and see her, I experience all the symptoms of being in love - my heart is beating fast, my palms are clammy."
Yet, both Stoppard and Curtis agree, part of the richness of life as a grandmother now is combining it with full-time working life and taking advantage of the many other experiences life has to offer, whether it's doing a degree, travelling, skydiving, whale-watching or wine-tasting.
"It's probably the most fulfilling, enjoyable and exciting time of my life,"says Julie Cooper, 57, whose granddaughters are two and six. "When your own children are little there's always guilt. But with my granddaughters, it's pure enjoyment. It's wonderful to have a busy, fulfilling, professional life. I run an events-management company, so I might be organising a conference for 500 one day and a fashion show the next. It's really full-on - I'm often still at my laptop at midnight. But any contact with my grandchildren is magical. Hearing Rosie on the phone telling me what she's up to at school is fantastic.
"It makes you think it's all worthwhile; this is what life is about, it's what makes all the hard graft worth it. I know they say you can't have it all but I reckon this is about as close as it gets."
Other grandmothers agree. Tanya Hine, 65, is a graphic designer and president of a national lobby group, meaning she is constantly on the go, travelling nationally and abroad. But she's determined to make time for her grandchildren, who are two and eight. "I try to keep two weekends a month clear when I can lavish attention on them," she says. "One thing you know by the time you're a granny is how quickly time goes by. You want to savour every moment, really make the most of it."
The best thing about being a working grandmother, Hine says, is you can afford to give your grandchildren lovely treats. "Because I work, I've got the money to do things with the grandchildren that I couldn't afford to do with my son when he was little."
Hine is also aware she is a great role model for her grandchildren. "What you're saying to them is, anything is possible. Life isn't over in your 30s or your 40s - I'm surrounded by women in their 60s, 70s and 80s who are movers and shakers. And though my grandchildren don't realise it at the moment, I think knowing that older women are strong and interesting and do exciting things will make a difference to the way they think about the world when they're older. I certainly hope so."
Linda Price, 55, a former child-minder, says there is a vast contrast between her life now and that of her own grandmother at the same age. "My grandmother was mostly at home," she says, "and I don't remember going out with her. But since I became a grandmother 15 years ago, my life has opened out. I've been all over the world - Mexico, Cuba, the US, Egypt, Africa, Greece and Malta. My husband and I can afford it, so we think, why not? And we often take the grandchildren along.
"Being a grandmother hasn't made me feel old - I was 40 when my eldest grandchild was born - but it has made me think that life isn't forever. "
How do these high-flying grandmas manage to fit seeing the children into their packed diaries? Sally Greengross has been in the House of Lords since 2000 and is chief executive of the International Longevity Centre. She has a frantic workload and nine grandchildren ranging from two to 16.
"I love seeing them and I make time for them but I'm certainly no good as a babysitter," she admits. "I've got a very busy working life and my grandchildren know that... I clear space so that we can enjoy one another's company but it's very much making space rather than being around all the time.
"I think the fact that I'm working... means we've got lots to say to one another. It's not how being a grandparent might have been in the past, where the grandchildren were telling their grandparents about their action-packed lives and the grandparents had nothing to trade back except memories. I can tell them about what I'm doing now, not just what I did in the past."
Like a growing number of grandmothers, Greengross's grandchildren call her by her first name: "We did it so there wouldn't be any preconceptions of what our relationship might be." Others feel it's too ageing to be called granny. "Granny is a terrible word. It has negative connotations in our society," says Jackie Groundsell, 60, who has four grandchildren aged from eight to 16. "I've always been nan and I feel better being nan than I would being granny."
Surprisingly, not one of the grandmothers I spoke to said being a grandmother made her feel old. For some, the reverse seemed true; they felt having grandchildren was keeping them young.
"Why should it make you feel old?" asks Cooper. "I still wear my jeans and go to the gym four times a week. In fact, having grandchildren gives you another reason to want to stay healthy and fit - so that you can keep up with them."
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