Friday, March 13, 2009
Tear-Jerk Time
Michelle Obama makes me cry.I'll rephrase that. Whenever I see Michelle Obama, I get tears in my eyes. She doesn't make me do anything. But it does happen on a regular basis.
I have to admit that my health has been the pits for the past 5 weeks. No sooner did I begin to recover from a long bout of asthmatic bronchitis than I was hit with a truly evil stomach flu. So I've been rather vulnerable and blue.
Not that my tears are sad tears. I am just so moved by this woman, who seems so authentic.
Connecting with military families. Paying her loving respects to the people hardest hit by the shenanigans of the last years. Showing up to serve the homeless, to participate in service days. She's a one-woman statement of the values we need to see, and her warmth and compassion are palpable.Her personal story includes loss, outsider experience, and hardship met with a serious work ethic. I often feel that her husband's upbeat, transformative philosophy has been as healing for her as it promises to be for the nation. There's still something vulnerable in her aspect in unguarded moments. She is taking to the First Lady role in ways that I've never glimpsed before.
She's very huggy, another big plus for me. Though it's been said a million times, it's amazing what a difference a hug can make. I have one library patron and volunteer, age 87, who shows up every Monday night to bring in the flags and collect a long, warm hug for his efforts. "That's my hug for the week!" he says after we finish our
regular embrace. I'd love to turn him and Michelle loose on each other. They both understand something essential.I'll never understand the Victorian response to her bare arms. (At least we can refer to them as arms. In the the Queen V's days, they were limbs. But that's not much progress in a hundred years, if you ask me.) She's healthy, she's in great shape, and part of her advocacy is for diet and exercise. What's the deal?
I'm sure that the pastiest parts of our nation are still in shock. I can tell by the endless reactions to her statements, her little fist bumps with the Big Guy, her dynamite body, that their first up-close look at a proud, healthy, African-American woman is going to take some internal adjusting on their parts.
As for me, I've long known that systematically shutting out the worth of people unlike ourselves is a sure-fire way to miss out on their substantial contributions. I'm thankful for this time, this lady and her husband, and all that they will teach us in the next four, and ultimately, I hope, eight years.
Now where did I put that goddam hanky?
Labels: Michelle Obama
