Skip to main content

President Obama's Mother's Day Message Is Heartfelt & Real


As President Obama's second term as president winds down, he keeps reminding us how much we're all going to miss him. From (literally) dropping the mic at the White House Correspondents' Dinner to responding to questions about Donald Trump by saying that the presidency is "not a reality show," he's doing most everything right. And now, President Obama has shared a Mother's Day message that's lovely and heartfelt — one that takes on extra meaning in light of what he has said in the past about his relationship with his own mother.
Obama posted the message on his official POTUS Facebook account Sunday morning. In it, he thanked his mother for "instilling in me a sense that I could do anything if I worked for it," a belief that later led to him becoming president. He thanked superwoman Michelle Obama and her mother for all the hard work they put in to raise Malia and Sasha, and said he was "lucky to have lived [his] life surrounded by such remarkable women."
Finally, he reminded everyone to thank their mothers, or mother figures, and to say "I love you," not only on Mother's Day, but all year round. He included two adorable throwback pictures with the post, one of him as a little boy with his mother, and one of him, Michelle, and their two daughters way back before Malia was even considering Harvard.
While the message is sweet and true simply taken on its own terms, it's especially meaningful when remembering that Obama's mother died of cancer in 1995, a few weeks before her 53rd birthday, and two years before her son got elected to the state senate in Illinois. She never got to see her son's meteoric rise, and the ways in which her faith in him led to him becoming one of the most influential people of our time. Obama has said in the past that one of his regrets in life was not spending more time with his mother, and a day like Mother's Day can definitely serve to underline those sorts of regrets when your mother is no longer around.
Obama also spent this Mother's Day focusing on how to make life easier for mothers in the United States. In an address posted on the White House website, he called on Congress to back up their holiday celebration of mothers with tangible benefits, saying:
That includes paid maternity and paternity leave, sick leave, accommodations for workers who are pregnant, good health care, affordable child care, flexibility at work, equal pay, and a decent minimum wage. We ask our mothers to do more than their fair share of just about everything. Making sure they’re treated fairly is the least we can do.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News/Getty Images
HAVANA, CUBA - MARCH 22: (L-R) Malia Obama, Sasha Obama, U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro react to the first run scored during an exhibition game between the Cuban national baseball team and Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Devil Rays at the Estado Latinoamericano March 22, 2016 in Havana, Cuba. This is the first time a sittng president has visited Cuba in 88 years. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
In a separate post on Medium, the president addressed the current push to close the "diaper gap," writing,
Access to clean diapers isn’t just important for a child’s health and safety. Research has shown that mothers who are unable to afford diapers for their babies are more likely to suffer from maternal depression and mental health issues. ... There’s a lot more work to do, and because this is an important issue for dads too, I hope to report more progress by Father’s Day. But I’m proud to say that we’re off to a great start.
Here's hoping that, in addition to thanking the important women in their lives, the members of Congress take up Obama's charge on all fronts, so that mothers are treated with the respect they deserve all year long.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Who Is Zuleyka Rivera? 5 Things To Know About The ‘Despacito’ Actress

With ‘Despacito’ up for Record of the Year at the 2018 Grammy Awards, here’s everything you need to know about the music video’s actress — Zuleyka Rivera! 1. She’s a renowned beauty queen.  Not only did she claim the Miss Universe Puerto Rico title, Zuleyka eventually took the top prize and was later crowned Miss Universe in 2006. 2. After her huge Miss Universe win, she studied acting and eventually became a TV star.  She now lives in Miami where she’s frequently a special guest or a host on shows like  Un Nuevo Dia  on Telemundo and  Despierta America  on Univision. Before that, she became a breakout star by appearing on several Televisa soap operas in Mexico. 3. In addition to modeling, she also owns her own clothing line.  On top of running her own teen-ware clothing collection, she also has three fragrance lines called the Karisma, Zuleyka and Zuleyka 2010. If that wasn’t impressive enough, she also started an amazing swims...

Frank Ocean new album: How to listen and stream Boys Don’t Cry when it drops

After two missed release dates a year apart and a confusing decoy of a “live stream” video, Frank Ocean is set to finally release his second album,  Boys Don’t Cry , on Friday 5 August. It will be launched through an exclusive deal with Apple Music, according to the  New York Times , who cite a ‘person with knowledge of the release plans’. If indeed this is the case (and it would make sense, that live stream has an Apple watermark), it means you’ll need to sign up for Apple Music to listen to the  Channel Orange  follow-up, which costs £9.99 a month (£4.99 for students through Apple’s UNiDAYS promotion). You might want to turn off auto-renewal off though (Apple Music app > profile icon > View Apple ID. > Subscriptions > Manage > switch Auto-Renewal off), if you’re the kind of person who, like me, is liable to forget that you’ve signed up for the service indefinitely. Beyond Apple Music...

Celine Dion Gives a Tearful Interview After Her 2016 Billboard Music Awards Performance: "Music Is Extremely Therapeutic"

As  Céline Dion  sang, "The Show Must Go On"—and go on it did. At the  2016 Billboard Music Awards  Sunday, the 48-year-old diva brought down the house with her cover of  Queen 's "The Show Must Go On." Celine received a standing ovation inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and to top it off, she received the ICON Award from her 15-year-old son,  René-Charles Angélil . A surprised and emotional Celine thanked her fans, family, children, and "most importantly," her late husband  René Angélil , "who I know will continue to watch over me from above." Celine added, "René, this one's for you. The show must go on." Celine then made her way backstage to do interviews, but paused to watch  Madonna  and  Stevie Wonder 's tribute to  Prince . She danced, sang along and snapped her fingers as they performed"Nothing Compares 2 U" (which Prince wrote  Sinéad O'Connor ) and "Purple Rain." Afterward, C...