Blast from the Past

On Friday Andy and I drove to a pub in Alderley Edge and met up with the Trevelyans: Andy, Sophie, Sam and Susanna, who are the family that I lived with and worked for in my very first year of living in New York, all those years ago. Needless to say, Sam and Su have grown so much since they were the 3 and 5 year-olds that I began working with; they both definitely retain their character in the way I remember it though.

Andy and I knew each other from the climbing wall in Oxford when I was at uni and they offered me a job as a nanny to Sam and Su for a year, while he and Sophie worked on research in their respective areas of science at Columbia. What a year it was! They provided me with my 'in' to New York and gave me not only a roof over my head and a job, but the extreme privilege of looking after two of the most fun, clever and engaging kids I have ever met. Seriously, these kids are incredible and I had so much fun learning about children, New York, and about myself in that first year living with them.

I don't think I ever told them this, but being part of their family was the thing that secured for me the decision that I did in fact want to have a family of my own, one day. There's nothing quite like good role models and adorable, adventurous kids to convince you that raising a family is extremely hard work, but completely worth every sacrifice.