The Nanny Diaries

I have found a wonderful English family to nanny for a few days a week after school. What is nannying? Babysitting, with a fancier title.

The kids, B. and H., are 8 and 10, respectively, and are sincerely great. They are thoughtful, kind, honest, and helpful. I really couldn't ask for better "charges."

This week, we have had lots of snow in London, canceling B's school yesterday. So, we went tobogganing (sledding) in Wimbledon Park. Yes, where they play tennis- in fact, we joined in a massive snowball fight right on the courts. It was awesome.

But normally, my "duties" are far more mundane as a nanny. They are as follows:

Fetching B. from school, which is just up the hill from the house. Somehow, English people have learned how to walk and run on ice. I, however, am still learning their tricks.

A sidebar: English kids in their school uniforms are, without a doubt, the cutest thing I have ever witnessed. You think little kids with accents are adorable? Slap a tie on them, and it triples the cuteness factor. It does make it difficult to find your kid though, in the after-school swarm of "find your mum/nanny!" I have to mentally check each kid, since they all look the same until you are close. (Not my kid. Not my kid. Not my kid. B? Nope, not skinny enough. Not my kid. Not my kid. B.!)

Helping B. and H. with their homework, while realizing how many things I used to know, but no longer do. Even with H.'s insistence that "lawyers know everything." Ha. HAHAHA.

Cooking dinner for H., B., and me. H. thoughtfully puts on a tea-making playlist for me, typically involving many Hannah Montana songs. Dinner is sometimes called tea. Though I'm not sure when or why.

Having a nice cultural exchange with the kids. They like me to repeat words like they say them, which generally leads to them rolling on the floor, laughing. I now call H. and B. "my little tomahhhtoes" because it brings them such joy.

This is also the one and only time in my life that I have been told I sound French. I am starting to think that H. and B. just substitute "French" for "wrong and ridiculous." They are English, after all.