isn't she lovely?

princeton and harvard grad.

motivator. 

strong.

beautiful. 

writer. 

i'm currently reading michelle obama's memoir, becoming. i'll have a full review over at bit.ly/PageBedtime before the year is out. but i had to take a moment to share some thoughts the nation's former first lady. long before her book was published, political pundits, journalists and every day citizens alike were speculating whether she would eventually run for office. 

i've heard her response to this, it has been a resounding no. 

yet, she is continually asked. i just got frustrated on her behalf the other day, which prompted this blog post. i doubt any more than a handful of people will read this, but i will feel better for writing it. i feel a sense of obligation because while michelle was campaigning for barack and also while in office, she has regarded the military and especially their families with great care and concern. (my navy veteran cousin's wife met her and witnessed this in person.) so, i kinda wanted to pay some of that back with this writing.  

when michelle acknowledged that the whole family is part of the military experience, i felt validated as an army brat of 15 years. as my friends can attest, i'll often speak of my time as a child as when "we were in the army," because michelle obama is exactly right - the whole family serves. the whole family is shuffled around. the whole family has to make new friends every 2-3 years. the whole family has to miss holidays with extended family members. the whole family serves. it's a little easier today with the advances in technology, but it was brutal when i was a child. 14 schools. 13 grades plus college - 14 different schools. i don't have a 5th grade school photo because we moved from one place before school photos were taken and arrived at the new school after they'd already been taken. being a military brat provides a unique life experience, albeit a challenging one. (i still have trouble answering the question: where are you from?)

i feel a sort of kinship with the obamas - especially their daughters. i understand what it is like to be the daughter of a parent who has made a career of serving this country. if, after my dad retired, my mom said she wanted to enlist, i would have just about died. while serving from the white house is vastly different from serving as an enlisted army soldier, there are some similarities. sometimes both parents and their offspring want to serve (e.g., the clintons, the bush family). but michelle has made it clear that she does not want to run, and we should stop asking her. she's answered. no means no. she's served. her daughters have served. her mother, to a degree, has served. there are other qualified leaders. we should be thankful for their service because, i'd suspect, running the country also provides a unique but challenging life experience. 

let's transfer our passion to the next generation of leaders.