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Cross-posted at http://www.goodmeasures.com/blog/
It is a remarkable privilege and an unprecedented opportunity to meet or speak with the President of the United States. In my life, I have had a chance to meet on more than one occasion three different Presidents and two different Vice Presidents. As a citizen of the First In The Nation Primary State of New Hampshire, I have also met countless candidates for the Oval Office on both sides of the political aisle.
Let me say that I get nervous each and every time I have the occasion to get my photo taken with an esteemed public official – often considered to be leader of the free world. Standing in the notoriously long and winding photo op line, I always diligently rehearse what I want to say in my 2 whole minutes – or more like 90 seconds – of face time. The goal is to sound well-informed and engaged. Ideally, I come up with something that makes me feel like somehow I am memorable – even though I know enough about the process to know that given the number of hands these people shake it is nearly impossible for me to be remembered as more than just another vaguely familiar face.
This week I had a chance to stand in a relatively short photo line at an event that President Clinton was hosting for my mom. Only this time, I knew exactly how I was going to use my 90 seconds of face time. On this particular day, my comments did not need to be rehearsed because I had been waiting for a time when I could extend my gratitude to President Clinton directly. I had been looking forward to thanking him for his leadership on the issue of childhood obesity.
To reduce the number of overweight or obese children in the United States, President Clinton established The Alliance for a Healthier Generation. The Foundation selected this particular issue because nearly 25 million American kids are overweight or obese. This epidemic has become a pending health and economic crisis resulting in children being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes along with heart problems, osteoarthritis and sleep apnea at alarming rates. I have heard President Clinton point out that “unless action is taken now, this generation of young people will be the first in American history to live shorter lives than their parents.” To learn more about The Clinton Foundation’s effort to tackle the rising rates of childhood obesity visit www.clintonfoundation.org.
I was going to capitalize on this unusual alignment of a key public policy issue with a strong personal connection and a powerful leader. This time, my 90 seconds would feel to me like time well spent. As I approached President Clinton and reached out to shake his hand, I stopped and said, “thank you, Mr. President for your commitment to addressing childhood obesity.” In less than 60 seconds, I went on to explain that I have a daughter with Type 1 Diabetes and the thought of children developing Type 2 Diabetes strictly because they are not eating healthy foods and are living sedentary lives is unimaginable. The posed expression on President Clinton’s face changed and he immediately began describing these 9-year old girls he met in New York City who all have Type 2 Diabetes.
As my 90 seconds turned into two minutes and his handlers started getting anxious, I swiftly mentioned this blog. I said that the blog is intended to shed light on the unavoidable challenges of living with Type 1 Diabetes. Given my understanding of life with Type 1 Diabetes, I found his efforts to change the fate of other families by eliminating the incidence of Type 2 Diabetes to be an inspiration.
Ultimately, this was the first photo op line that I left with more than a picture.
