The Story Behind the Picture
Virtually since Erica was born in January
1991, our children have been under the loving care of a live-in English
nanny. Over the years there have been three different
ones. They have all put Mary Poppins to shame, and have been an
integral part of our family.
Jane Hackett joined us in March 1991 when
Erica was two months old. Jane lives in the northern part of England
near Manchester. She is a true lover of babies and we had a great
first year of parenthood with Jane. By the time her year was up and she returned to
England, we were almost able to understand what she was saying (the
northern English accent is mighty thick).
Sarah Twells (now Mrs. White) replaced Jane
in February 1992. Sarah came from Nottingham in the English
midlands. Yes, that's where Sherwood Forest is for all you Robin
Hood fans. When Sarah completed her first year, she had already made
the decision to stay and apply for permanent resident status. We
were thrilled to have her stay on. Unfortunately (for us, not her),
she fell for a nice American boy (Chris White) and married him in February
1995. Darlene served as her matron of honor and Erica was the flower
girl at the wedding. Sarah and Chris are living happily ever after in
Parlin, NJ, with their five-year-old son Jake and their new son Nolan born
7/31/02.
We had an entire year's notice to find a
suitable replacement for Sarah. It was not easy. After
interviewing countless candidates we didn't like, we finally called Cathie
in England. We had met her when she was working for another family
nearby in late 1991 and early 1992. She had befriended Jane and
later Sarah, before returning to England in 1992.
Coincidently, Cathie also comes from
Nottingham, but never met Sarah until she came to America. She was
anxious to return to America and become a permanent resident here. She
just celebrated her eighth anniversary in our home (January 2003) and we sincerely hope
she never leaves us. After a very long wait, she has finally been
granted permanent resident status. We granted her the status of
permanent family member long ago. Click picture to enlarge it.
Shortly after Sarah's wedding, Jane phoned us
to say she would be coming back to America for a few days. We invited her
to stay with us and immediately told Sarah to mark it on her
calendar. All this led to a wonderful visit, a nice dinner out
together, and the picture above.
