I think it's safe to say that Michelle Obama's speech last night at the Democratic National Convention was quite possibly the single most relevant-to-moms speech in the history of politics. I don't know about you, but hearing the First Lady of the United States admit that when her girls were young, "a date night for Barack and me was either dinner or a movie, because as an exhausted mom, I couldn't stay awake for both," made me want to jump up and hug the television.
Of course motherhood's common struggles extend far beyond fatigue, and for once, the person behind the podium had the firsthand experience to articulate, with great clarity and compassion, the challenges we all face every day as American moms.
Like how to help our kids transition smoothly into a new school or a new place to live, for example. When Barack was elected president, Michelle Obama was thrilled for her husband ...
But just like you or I might be, she was equally worried about how the change would affect her daughters:
"While I believed deeply in my husband’s vision for this country ... and I was certain he would make an extraordinary President ... like any mother, I was worried about what it would mean for our girls if he got that chance," she said.
More from The Stir: Michelle Obama's Speech Proved Barack Is the Man for the Job
"How would we keep them grounded under the glare of the national spotlight? How would they feel being uprooted from their school, their friends, and the only home they’d ever known?"
How familiar does that sound? (Well, not the "national spotlight" part, but the rest.) With my own 11-year-old daughter starting middle school, I can't tell you how comforting and empowering it is to hear the FLOTUS speak so honestly about her own 11- and 14-year-old daughters. To know that, just like me, Michelle Obama wonders whether she's making the best decisions for her kids. (Honestly, I just want to have a drink with the woman and beg for her advice on adolescent mood swings and mean girls and cute boys and a billion other things!)
But most comforting and empowering of all is knowing that despite her initial concerns, Michelle Obama now realizes how much better off Sasha and Malia will be with her husband as president -- with a president who sincerely cares about issues like women's rights and healthcare -- simply because he will make this world a better place for their daughters, and ours:
You see, at the end of the day, my most important title is still 'mom-in-chief.'
My daughters are still the heart of my heart and the center of my world.
But today, I have none of those worries from four years ago about whether Barack and I were doing what’s best for our girls.
Because today, I know from experience that if I truly want to leave a better world for my daughters, and all our sons and daughters ... if we want to give all our children a foundation for their dreams and opportunities worthy of their promise ... if we want to give them that sense of limitless possibility -- that belief that here in America, there is always something better out there if you’re willing to work for it ... then we must work like never before ... and we must once again come together and stand together for the man we can trust to keep moving this great country forward ... my husband, our President, President Barack Obama.
Did you feel like Michelle Obama's speech really spoke to moms?
Image via The White House/Flickr
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Comments 12
No. We might want the same things for our children, but we certainly go about that in different ways. I do not beleive leaving a larger debt for our children is going to give them a better life. It is only going to make it harder to succeed and to live the 'American Dream.' Having the government give everyone healthcare, schooling, food, etc, is not going to give people a better chance at the American Dream, it will only kill independence and diligence.
She said the same things as Ann Romney only in a different way. We can't relate to either of these women. She also lied about being so poor. How do such poor people go to the schools they went to?
I was very disappointed in the first lady's speech last night.
I want that woman and her husband to stay the hell away from me and my family.
And on the flipside - no matter what she said, those opposed to voting for Obama would find fault in it. Here I thought that, despite what side people are on, politically-speaking, that MOTHERS of all walks of life would be able to relate to some of what she was saying. Guess I thought a little too highly of some people. These comments brought me back to reality about how close-minded some people are.
Politics is a dirty game to play, and now that First Ladies play a more active role, them too are being harshly criticized . Anything they say will be scrutinized and criticized, but they have a lot of influence on voters.