子供たちが小学生の頃、我が家でシッター兼家庭教師をしてくれた友人がいる。
当時の彼女は、ニューヨーク大学に通う留学生。
子供たちをピックアップして、一緒に宿題をやって、夕飯を食べて、
そしてまた大学の図書館に勉強しに戻って行く、勤勉な学生だった。
大学の食堂では味わえない家庭の味をと、私はすっかり寮母の気分。
卒業式にも彼女の御両親と一緒に参加、旅立ちの日はとても寂しかった。
その後彼女は家業の拡大のために、ロンドンに渡った。
セルフリッジ店舗内に、新しいブランチを開業し、事業は順風満帆。
そんな彼女を訪ねながらの欧州旅行は、下の子供３人を引き連れて。
初日空港での親子喧嘩で幕が開け、どんな旅になるのか雲行きも怪しい。
ヒースロー空港に降り立ったのは四半世紀ぶり。
地下鉄を乗り継いで、ホテルに荷物を預けて、市内散策。
ビッグベンも、バッキンガム宮殿も、昔見たそのまま。
この古い街並みが、この国の歴史を物語っている。
I have a friend who was a sitter and tutor in our home when our kids were in elementary school.
At the time, she was an international student attending NYU.
She picked up the kids, did their homework with them, and ate dinner,
Then, she went back to the university library to study.
I felt like a matron of honor, giving her a taste of home that she couldn't get at the university cafeteria.
I attended her graduation ceremony with her parents and was sad to see her go.
After that, she moved to London to expand the family business.
She opened a new branch in the Selfridges store, and the business was sailing smoothly.
Visiting her, I traveled to Europe with my three kids in tow.
On the first day at the airport, a fight broke out between the parents and the children, and there were doubts about what kind of trip it would be.
It had been a quarter of a century since I had landed at Heathrow Airport.
We took the subway, left our luggage at the hotel, and strolled around the city.
Big Ben and Buckingham Palace were just as I had seen them.
These old streets tell the history of this country.
