Michelle Obama has opened up about the guilt and anxiety of motherhood, revealing the golden rules she learned from her mother, Marian Robinson, while raising Sasha and Malia in the White House. In an extract from her new book, the former first lady describes how her 71-year-old mother reluctantly moved into the White House to help care for the two girls, then aged seven and ten.
Mrs Robinson was dubbed ‘First Granny’ and ‘Grandmother-in-Chief’ by the media, but she never sought the spotlight. ‘She operates with a quiet and mirthful grace,’ writes Mrs Obama. ‘Glamour and gravitas mean nothing to her. She sees right through it, believing that all people should be treated the same.’ Mrs Robinson approached the pope and the postman with equal respect.
The former first lady’s mother remained candid throughout, describing her move to Washington as ‘kicking and screaming from her quiet little bungalow’. She felt the White House was ‘too much like a museum’ but stayed because, as she told a reporter, ‘If somebody’s going to be with these kids other than their parents, it better be me.’
Mrs Robinson’s parenting philosophy was simple: ‘All children are great children.’ She believes neighbourhoods like Chicago’s South Side are full of ‘little Michelles and little Craigs’ who are often overlooked. ‘This would probably count as the foundational point of my mom’s larger philosophy,’ writes Mrs Obama, who credits her mother’s steadfast support through her own parenting journey.
