We expected childcare help from our au pair. We got a new family tradition instead.

The author hired an Argentine au pair to take care of her kids.

Courtesy of the author

When an au pair from Argentina joined my family in 2022, I expected convenient childcare and a cordial friendship. I did not expect to wake up at 4 in the morning to watch her country play in the World Cup. After all, my family had never even watched an entire soccer game together.But by the end of the tournament, we were painting our faces blue and white, putting photos of Kylian Mbappe in the freezer, and watching the games on cellphones in the grocery store. Without warning, we had become Argentina fanatics.We watched Argentina win the 2022 World CupThe night before the semifinals, my husband, daughters, and I decided to display our team spirit. We cut triangles from printer paper at the kitchen table. Then we filled each pennant with drawings of sky-blue stripes, golden suns, and attempts at soccer balls and threaded the whole thing onto a length of light blue yarn.

The author and her kids made a banner for Argentina's games.

Courtesy of the author