Diana, Iain, & Mike... (essay date 28th May 2004)

Hi! Here is some information about our family, and where we live, and what life with us will be like.

I'm Mike. I'm Scottish, from Dingwall, a small town in the far North Highlands of Scotland. I'm 40 this year (2004). After finishing school, I went to Glasgow University, where I completed an Honours degree in geology. I followed that with a Masters in Information technology. By that time I had met Diana, the woman who would one day be my wife, and we moved together to Cambridge, England, in 1989. I spent the next few years in the computer industry, doing at various times practically every job in the computer business, except for sales. 

I'm Diana. I'm also Scottish, from Eaglesham, a village near Glasgow, in the South of Scotland. I studied chemistry at Strathclyde University - it was whilst I was there that I met Mike. After completing my Honours degree, we went to Cambridge, where I completed a PhD in physical chemistry. In 1993 I started in the financial world, where my work has mainly revolved around analysis, trading, and portfolio management of high-yield bonds.

The biggest change came when Diana had the opportunity to work in New York. We got married, and moved to the USA in the summer of 1998, initially on a temporary work visa. I quickly found employment with a software company who sponsored me for a green card, and we duly became permanent residents of the USA in October 2001. 

Our first child, Iain, was born in March 2003. In July, when Diana went back to work, I resigned from my software job to take up a new career as a full-time father. Up until that time we had lived in an apartment in the centre of New York city, later that year we decided the time had come to move out of the city, and we eventually bought a large house in the town of Mamaroneck, which is around 15 miles /  25km from the centre of New York. We found Iain was so much fun that we decided to have a second child quickly, and we are expecting a happy event around the middle of November!

This is why we have requested an Au Pair to start in August or September - we want our son Iain to be happy and settled with the Au Pair as part of the family, before our second child is born. Diana will be at home with our newborn second child for four months, and I will be doing my job as a daddy too, so we are clear that our Au Pair will NOT be expected to look after a very young baby! After our second child is a little older, and everything has settled to a new routine, I will probably be doing a little part-time work, mostly at home - but my main job will still be Daddy!

OK, time to tell you a bit more about Iain. He's always been a very happy baby - he didn't cry much, even when he was very tiny, he's never had colic, and he's really been a very very easy baby to care for - we have been very lucky! He usually sleeps through the whole night, and he's a very self-reliant baby - he's not 'needy', he's quite fearless, he is very curious, he likes to play on his own, and to explore the house. He started walking a month ago, and now he's running around very happily. He interacts well with other children, and loves meeting new people. 

He usually wakes up around 06.30, and goes to bed around 20.30. In between, he will take a nap for an hour or so in the morning, and again for an hour in the afternoon. He will be 18 months old in September, when you arrive to stay with us, and we think he will probably be starting the 'toddler school' at a local Montessori School at around this time, for a few hours each day. 

Iain got his own internet domain as a birthday present, you can see many pictures of him at http://www.iainjamesross.com

Being 'foreign' in America, we perhaps have a more 'open', friendly, and understanding attitude to people from different cultures than some Americans do. When we lived in Cambridge we had an 'open house' with many friends from different countries and cultures staying with us. We have lived with Christians, Muslims, Jews, Pagans, Atheists, and others, and have friends from Germany, The Netherlands, Ireland, Russia, The Ukraine, Mongolia, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand... I think you understand the idea! Having someone from a different culture living with us is something we have experience of, and are looking forward to.

The part of America we live in, close to New York, is both very prosperous, and very diverse - there are many, many non-American people in our town and the area around it. People from all over the world live in this area. So whatever country our Au Pair comes from, she will not find it hard to find people from her own background to be friendly with. There are about 12,000 people in the town of Mamaroneck, but it is just a part of a series of communities along the shore of the Long Island Sound - New Rochelle, Larchmont, Harrison, Rye, and Port Chester. There are some small industries in Mamaroneck, but the town is best known as a recreational port, with a marina and many moorings for yachts and power boats - sailing is a big activity here! There are also many golf courses, and the usual  facilities for other sports. The climate is generally cold in winter, hot in summer - similar to most of northern Europe. We get some snow, last winter there were three large storms, each leaving 12" / 30cm of snow on the ground. There is skiing in the mountains an hour or two by car from us. The countryside around Mamaroneck itself is fairly flat, and there are a lot of trees.

Ok, now to tell you about our house. We have a very large house, there are six bedrooms. So you will have a room of your own, with bed, furniture, etc., and a bathroom which will only be used by you and any visitors we have to stay. You will have a PC to use, and high-speed internet access. It's quite a 'modern' house design, it was built in 1967, and has a very large living room with many large windows. There is also a large 'family room', and a play space. The kitchen is large and modern, with all the useful things you would expect. There is also a washing machine and dryer. The garden is very pretty, there are many large trees. The house is built on the side of a rocky hill, so there is bare rock in the garden, as well as flat grass areas for playing games. We have a wooden 'deck', which is common in American homes, at the rear of our house - it makes a great place for having a party, a barbecue, or just sunbathing!

We expect you to be able to drive well, and you will be able to drive our cars - we have a Subaru Imprezza WRX, and we are about to buy a second car, which will be a minivan or MPV type of vehicle - probably a Pontiac Trans Sport, which is similar to a Renault Espace.

What else? Rules... we will discuss this with you, but we are not very 'strict' people. We're not going to tell you things like when you must be home at night! (unless you are 'on duty' that night of course!) We expect you to be adult, responsible, reasonable and fair - things like no loud music late at night. I think our number one rule would be that, if you do smoke, you never smoke in the house or in front of the children. But of course we would prefer it if you didn't smoke at all! Other 'rules' are just obvious common sense - for instance, keeping the children under close control in the garden, because the rocks can be dangerous. Don't even think about trying to drive if you have had a drink. Just normal things like that.

One thing you should be aware of - you will be a member of our family, and part of that is going on holiday with the family! Each year we will be going to Scotland, where we have a second house, for 2-4 weeks. It's a very small house, very old - very different to our house in America! But it's pretty, and is in one of the most wild and remote and beautiful parts of Scotland. Of course, if you are from a European country, we would be happy if you wanted to visit your home for a short period when we are in Scotland. We go to other places for holidays too - we are most likely to go to Hawaii, Australia,  and New Zealand in the next two years. So it's important that your passport and visa allow you to leave the USA, visit other countries, and return.

Please remember to ask us any questions, and if you come to live with us, we're sure you'll have a great time!

Iain, Diana, & Mike