Malia and Sasha spent hours this weekend putting the finishing touches on their costumes. Then they paraded around with their friends at the Halloween party we hosted on Saturday night. Malia was what she calls an “evil fairy,” and Sasha was (I can hardly believe I’m writing this) a corpse bride. They were both aiming for terrifying, but as Barack put it, they really are just too cute to be scary.
]]>Malia and Sasha spent hours this weekend putting the finishing touches on their costumes. Then they paraded around with their friends at the Halloween party we hosted on Saturday night. Malia was what she calls an “evil fairy,” and Sasha was (I can hardly believe I’m writing this) a corpse bride. They were both aiming for terrifying, but as Barack put it, they really are just too cute to be scary.
In a few days, we’ll go trick-or-treating. And then, just a few days later, it’s Election Day.
After 21 long months, the big day is almost here.
This campaign has been such an incredible experience for me and for our family. I’ve learned so much. And I don’t just mean how to travel to five states in two days, or where to find places for kid-friendly fun anywhere in America on a moment’s notice. (Though, believe me, these are extremely useful skills.)
I’ve learned that there is so much more that unites us as Americans than divides us—no matter what our differences may be. I’ve seen neighbors pitching in when the folks around them need a hand—without being asked, and sometimes without even being noticed. Strangers seeing each other struggle, and standing up to say, “I don’t know you, but I want to help.”
This is exactly what Barack has been talking about for years. The fundamental values and experiences that bring us together… regardless of our race, our political party, our socioeconomic status, our age or our gender… all the threads that connect our lives and our futures. Because the truth is, we are in this together. We will rise and fall together. And the only way that we’ll build a better future for our kids is by coming together and working together for change.
As Barack always says, We don’t live in red states or blue states… we live in the United States. And during the past 21 months, as I’ve traveled around this beautiful country, I’ve seen the truth of his words again and again.
Now, with just two weeks to go until Election Day, I’d like share with you one of my favorite memories from the campaign trail, for you to get a sense of the extraordinary strength and kindness I’ve seen on my travels.
Throughout this campaign, I’ve hosted roundtable discussions with women—both to introduce myself and our family to the American people, and to hear the questions and concerns of folks all over this country. A few months ago, I was in Kansas City, Missouri, meeting with a group of local women, when one woman started talking about her son.
He had some developmental problems, and his pediatrician urged her to give him as much enrichment as she could. But she didn’t make enough money to afford daycare. So instead of spending his days playing with other children in a lively environment, this little boy was spending his days sitting in a relative’s living room, waiting for his mom to finish work.
This mother was heartsick over how to give her son a better quality of life during these crucial formative years.
Another woman was participating in the discussion that day: a nun named Sister Berta, who runs a nonprofit agency that cares for low-income children while their mothers are at work. And after we finished our discussion that day, Sister Berta quietly went over to the woman, and offered her son a spot at her center—for just $10 a week.
It almost seemed like a miracle. Right when that woman was brave enough to tell her story, there was someone listening who could help her. And two people who didn’t know each other before that morning found their lives on a different path after we left.
I think about that moment all the time. Because that right there—that sense of cooperation, that unity—that is why Barack is in this race. Because he believes so deeply in our ability to come together in times like these—times of crisis—to overcome any challenges that we face.
It’s going to take all of us working together to build a better future. And we have to start now. This election gives all of us the opportunity to change our world. So please, make the most of this moment. Educate yourself, and your friends and family, about the issues at stake in this election. And please, no matter who you vote for, make sure you vote.
I know we can do this. I’ve met so many strong and compassionate folks on the campaign trail. Folks like Sister Berta, who knows that we rise and fall together—and who can’t stand by if the situation demands that she step up.
My family is committed to this campaign because of people like her, and people like you.
So I’ll be carrying so many stories in my heart during these final days, wherever I go—whether I’m on the campaign trail, or collecting candy from our terrified neighbors, as I go door-to-door with our ghoulish girls.
]]>The conference was terrific—productive, powerful, and filled with a sense of shared purpose. I was just blown away by the energy and the excitement from the crowd. But I was also impressed for a different reason. As I looked around the room, I thought to myself, “How did this sea of women—with everything we have going on in our lives—all manage to be here?”
I thought about all the planning it took for these women to get here—the minor miracles they each had to perform to get away from their daily routines of work and kids and life, and spend a few days in Chicago. All the meetings that had to be rescheduled, the errands that were postponed, the appointments that were reshuffled… just so these women could come together to talk about the issues at stake in all of our lives.
No matter where we live—no matter our race, our socioeconomic background, or our political party—we women wear many hats. We’re daughters and sisters and moms. We’re professionals and students. We run errands and do laundry and shop for groceries. And to get it all done, we have another skill that we rely on. We’re jugglers.
I know that every other mommyblogger out there knows exactly what I’m talking about.
The work-life balance is something I think about a lot. I’ve struggled for so many years to get it right, and I still haven’t figured it out. Too often, when I’m with the kids, I feel like I’m shortchanging work. And when I’m at work… or these days, on the campaign trail… I feel like I’m shortchanging the kids. For many years, I felt a lot of guilt—and I still do, though it’s better now.
But I know how lucky I am. After all, I have help. My mother lives nearby, and is always ready to pitch in to help with carpooling or making dinner, for the nights when I have to be away. And of course, our family is lucky in other ways. My husband and I have good jobs, which provide our family with health insurance. And if we need to take a few days off when our girls get sick, we won’t be fired for it.
But so many women and families across the country don’t have this kind of security.
As we all know, our country is in the midst of a major economic crisis. And we’re all feeling the effects. We’re waking up every morning, worried about what bad news the day will bring… knowing that the security of our finances—our families’ future—may hang in the balance.
And folks feel it every day when they pay for gas and groceries… when they put off going to the doctor because they can’t afford the co-pay… and when they worry about how they’ll afford college for their kids and retirement for themselves.
And folks are feeling it at the workplace. Because right now, thousands of women across the country don’t have family leave at their jobs. And those who do can’t afford to take it because it’s not paid. And 22 million working women don't have a single paid sick day.
That’s just unacceptable. Families shouldn’t be punished because someone gets sick or has an emergency.
The work-life balance is a harsh reality for so many women, who are forced every day to make impossible choices. Do they take their kids to the doctor… and risk getting fired? Do they work weekends so they can afford to send their kids to better childcare… even though it means even less time with their families? Do they take another shift at work, so they can pay for piano lessons for their kids… even though it means they have to stop volunteering for the PTA?
It just shouldn’t be this difficult to raise healthy families.
As I’ve traveled across this country, I’ve met so many women who are struggling every day, just to provide the basics. Women like Gayna, who went to school, worked hard for years, did everything right—but still found herself laid off in a recent round of cutbacks at her job. Deanna, the mother of six, who worked hard to put herself through school for her family—and is now wondering if it was worth it, with all the student loans she owes. And Leigh, who swears that just a few years ago, she and her husband were middle class… but now, as they raise their three kids, they’re barely getting by.
These women are our neighbors and our friends. And they could use a little extra help from their country.
Well, Barack gets it. That’s why, as president, Barack will expand the Family and Medical Leave Act, so that millions of additional Americans will be able to take time off to care for a baby, or an elderly parent—or just to have a few hours to attend a school play or a parent-teacher conference or take a child to the doctor. And Barack will require employers to provide all their workers with at least seven paid sick days a year.
And as I’ve written about before, he will fight to ensure that women are finally paid fairly for our work, by ending pay discrimination once and for all.
The Obama-Biden administration will change Washington, so instead of just talking a good game about family values, we actually have policies that value families.
That’s why I believe so much in my husband’s campaign. And I know that women around the country feel the same way.
It’s time that the work-life balance becomes a little less dire… and a little more doable… for all American families.
]]>During the past 19 months, I’ve learned that, at its best, “campaigning” is just another word for “talking with people.” And talking with people is something I truly love to do. That’s why, since the beginning of this campaign, I’ve been hosting roundtable discussions—particularly with two groups of people that America doesn’t hear from enough: working mothers and military spouses.
In these conversations, we all get together around a coffee table and just talk—about our kids, our jobs, our dreams—and the hectic, funny, sometimes frustrating, often rewarding realities of our lives.
I’ll be having two roundtable chats this week—one in Richmond, Virginia, and one in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In Virginia, I’ll have a special guest with me: Lilly Ledbetter.
Perhaps some of you may have never heard her name before—but she is right in the middle of a crucial legislative battle that will have an effect on the lives of millions of American women now and for generations to come.
Lilly is from Alabama. For nearly 20 years, she worked for a Goodyear tire plant. She was the only female supervisor—so you know this is a tough, hard-working woman. One day, someone sent her an anonymous letter with a list of salaries of her co-workers. That’s how she found out that she was making less than the men she worked with—even men who were less senior than she was. And we’re not talking about a few dollars. Some of her male counterparts were making 40 percent more than she was—for doing the same work.
Over 20 years, that adds up to a lot of money—money that could have helped Lilly send her kids to college, provide some comfort in her everyday life, or prepare for her retirement.
So Lilly did the brave and difficult thing. She confronted this injustice. Her case went all the way to the Supreme Court. And in a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that, according to the law, Lilly only had 180 days to complain about the pay discrimination. So because it had taken her 20 years to find out the truth, she had missed her chance at justice.
Well, some people in Congress decided to change that law, so it would no longer reward employers for hiding discrimination until they ran out the clock. Last July, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passed the House. But this April, Republicans in the Senate blocked it. Now, Democrats in the Senate are working to bring Lilly’s bill back for another vote this fall.
My husband is a proud supporter of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
Senator McCain does not support it. In fact, Senator McCain said that what women really need is more education and training.
But Lilly Ledbetter had plenty of training. What she doesn’t have is the right to fight for the pay she deserves.
Pay equity is a major issue at stake in this election. Today, across the country, women are paid only 77 cents for every dollar a man earns, and minority women are paid even less for equal work. This isn’t only an economic issue. This is a family issue. When women are paid less than men, their kids pay the price.
Pay equity is just one example of how times are tough for American families. Parents are working harder than ever to do it all—raise their kids, pay the bills, help out their parents, and keep up with the rising cost of living. Caring for their families is their greatest joy—but it’s getting harder to make ends meet.
Barack understands this. And he’s committed to restoring the middle class.
Under the Obama economic plan, 95 percent of middle-class families would receive a tax cut. And because so many people are struggling with the rising cost of energy, Barack would provide a $1,000 emergency energy rebate to working families.
Barack would also fight to establish pay equity for women and expand family leave—because today, over 22 million working women don’t have a single paid sick day.
Finding ways to better support America’s families is Barack’s focus, and my passion. When families are healthy, communities thrive. We really are all in this together. We should have government policies that reflect this reality to – as my husband says – make the world as it is and the world as it should be one in the same.
]]>I’m excited to be posting on BlogHer. Not only because blogging is something I’ve actually been able to beat my daughters to; but because it gives me the opportunity to tell you a little bit about them, my husband, myself, and our experiences traveling all over this great country.
]]>I’m excited to be posting on BlogHer. Not only because blogging is something I’ve actually been able to beat my daughters to; but because it gives me the opportunity to tell you a little bit about them, my husband, myself, and our experiences traveling all over this great country.
Over the course of this campaign, I’ve been hosting roundtable discussions with working women all across America. I’m there to talk about my husband, of course – but more importantly, I’m there to listen. We talk about what it’s like to play multiple roles at once and what it’s like to feel stretched thin between the demands of a career and family.
And of course, we talk about our children. How they’re the first thing we think about when we wake up in the morning, and the last thing we think about when we go to bed at night. I know that no matter where I am – work, the campaign trail, wherever – my girls are always on my mind.
What I find is that our stories are similar. But what I also hear at each roundtable is that women are struggling. They are working hard and playing by the rules, doing the most important job of raising the next generation, but somehow can never get ahead. They’re desperate for change.
I’ve heard from mothers struggling to make ends meet because their salaries aren’t keeping up with the cost of groceries. But if they take a second job, they can’t afford the additional cost of childcare. Or the moms who are nervous about taking time from their jobs to care for a sick child. Or the moms-to-be who are scared of getting fired if the boss finds out they’re pregnant.
Then there are women who work hard every day doing the same jobs as men, but earning less. And the military families, who struggle to make ends meet with one paycheck where there used to be two. They welcome their loved ones home with full hearts but little support from their government for their service.
I hear similar stories everywhere I go. These struggles – the struggles of working women and families across America – aren’t new to me or to any of us. And they’re certainly not new to Barack.
He was raised by two strong, working women – his mother and his grandmother. Growing up, he saw his single mother put herself through school while raising him and his sister alone. She was determined to show them that in America, there are no barriers to success if you’re willing to work for it. But he also saw her struggle to make ends meet, at times worrying about how she would pay the bills.
He saw his grandmother, the primary breadwinner for his family, work her way up at a bank. But he also saw how, once she got to a certain level, she hit a glass ceiling despite her hard work and abilities. He saw that she was passed over and underpaid, a problem that persists today for too many women.
And he sees me, his wife, trying to juggle jobs and raise kids; often feeling like when I’m with the kids, I’m shortchanging work, and when I’m at work or campaigning, I’m shortchanging the kids. I know you understand these struggles. Barack understands them too.
That’s why he’s worked to give families the tools they need to make a better life for their kids for over twenty years – from his years in Chicago working with a group of churches to help families devastated when local steel plants shut down; to the Illinois State Senate, where he worked to move families from welfare to work and expand early childhood education and child health care; to his fights in the U.S. Senate for equal pay and a fair economy.
As President, he’ll continue these fights. And he’ll build an economy that rewards work over wealth, ensures a world-class education, and creates quality, affordable health care for everyone who wants it.
He’ll do all this because he’s determined to change Washington so that instead of just talking about family values, we actually have policies that value families. Policies that actually make it easier for women to support, care for, and raise their families without having to choose between their kids and their careers.
I’ll be honest – when Barack first told me he was thinking about running for President, I had mixed feelings. I worried about my girls and what a campaign might do to their lives. I wanted the best life possible for them, and a presidential campaign wasn’t part of that equation.
But then I thought about it. And the world I want for them is a world where they’re paid fairly and equally for their work; where they don’t have to choose between kids and careers; where they can dream without limits without a glass ceiling standing in their way. And I realized that if that’s the world I want for them, then I had to do my part to elect someone like my husband.
We all need to do our part to keep women’s issues at the forefront of the national debate. That’s why communities like BlogHer are so important. It’s not just a forum or sounding board; it’s an energetic space that lets women know they’re not alone. It’s our own national virtual roundtable. But we need to take these online conversations offline as well. I’ll do my part, and so will Barack. But we need you all too.
Thanks for allowing me to post here. I plan to continue blogging – and listening.
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