When balancing two working parent's careers with the two very young children, life feels anything but predictable. My husband and I moved as far away from family as we could in our twenties, to the most expensive city in the U.S. (New York), waited as long possible before having kids in our late thirties, all in order to further our careers, then realized after having kids that we were all alone and struggling, sinking beneath the weight of trying to do it all. They say it takes a village and that is no cliché—finding the right support and childcare at times has felt insurmountable.
Before we met our au pair Angie, we never thought that it would be possible to have peace of mind. Now, we thank our lucky stars every day! She is the most responsible young woman we've ever met. When we come home from work, we find the kids happy, healthy, engaged and thriving. Angie teaches them Chinese, feeds them healthy and delicious foods that she cooks herself and organizes their day with calm deftness and confidence. We exchange cultural ideas and celebrations: Angie has taught us about various Taiwanese holidays, even making her own sticky rice desserts for a particularly sweet holiday. We gave her her first all-American mass Christmas consumption experience this year, replete with explosion of presents under the tree. She is possibly still reeling from that experience!
Angie is the prototype for what makes the au pair program unique and wonderful. She is not only amazing with our kids, but she has made for the best cultural exchange experience that we could ever have imagined.
Submitted by Daysun Chang, host mom in New York