This morning, I stumbled across an article about Michelle Obama talking with People Magazine. She was talking about the dog (never has a poor pooch gotten so much attention before its existence) and life at the White House.
The First Lady told the magazine that family life in the White House is better than ever.She and the President wake up early — she rises at 5:30 a.m. — and they exercise in the White House gym and enjoy breakfast together nearly every morning.
“We have dinner as a family together every night, and Barack, when he’s not traveling, tucks the girls in,” she said. “We haven’t had that time together for (years), so that explains a lot why we all feel so good in this space.”
And the reason why this is possible is because the President of the United States, the person anointed as the leader of the free world, works from home. Aside from the fact that he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, I realized that his days sound a lot like mine. I wonder if he has the same problem I have with staying out of the office at night?
Part of me is joking when I say this, of course. You can’t exactly compare the life of a work-at-home writer with the President of the United States. I have no illusions that he’s not working around the clock. But I do know that working from home allows certain freedoms and work-family balance that you just can’t get when you commute to an office building. For the sake of two little girls, thrust into the spotlight in an unfamiliar home and unfamiliar city, I’m glad that they get to spend time with their Daddy.