A First Lady

A First Lady
There were some positive aspects to life in the White House.
One immediate benefit was that Barack no longer had to make long daily commutes.
The Oval Office was literally downstairs from where they lived!
Oddly enough, as president, Barack was present for far more dinners than he ever was as a senator.
But now Michelle faced a new and very unique challenge: being the First Lady.
Unfortunately, the job doesn't come with a playbook.
Nevertheless, Michelle was highly aware that the world was going to be watching.
And since Michelle was not only First Lady but first African-American First Lady, the world was sure to be watching extra closely, and just waiting for a misstep.
As a former First Lady, Hillary Clinton gave her some fair warning about potential pitfalls.
One is to get too involved in the administration's agenda.
Hillary was heavily criticized for wanting to use her experience as a lawyer to help set policies around health care and other issues.
In her experience, the public believed the First Lady should not act as an elected official.
So Michelle was careful to start initiatives that could complement the administration's policies while being their own separate endeavors.
One of her first efforts was the Let's Move! initiative, created to address childhood obesity, a serious condition that has tripled over the past 30 years, leading to one in every three American kids being obese or overweight.
At the heart of this program was Michelle's idea to start a White House garden.
Not only would this promote eating fresh and healthy foods, but it would also support her efforts in making the White House feel more like a home than a fortress.
After some negotiating, the garden project was given 1,100 square feet of soil to work with, from the White House South Lawn.
Once spring arrived, Michelle and a group of fifth grade students from the local Bancroft Elementary School got to work with shovels and hoes to prepare the soil for planting.
Weeks later, the press were invited to watch the planting of carrots, lettuce, onions, spinach, broccoli, fennel, collard greens, shell peas, berry bushes, and a variety of herbs.
The planting of the garden received a lot of coverage in the press, which was good for the initiative, but it also came with some pressure.
As any gardener knows, planting seeds doesn't always lead to sprouting vegetables.
Michelle could easily envision the bad press that would come once the garden refused to cooperate.
It would certainly get her tenure as First Lady off to an embarrassing start.
Fortunately, the vegetables did their part.
After ten weeks, the first harvest yielded 90 pounds of produce that immediately made its way into the daily meals at the White House.
Before she left the White House, the garden provided an annual yield of 2,000 pounds of food.
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A First Lady There were some positive aspects to life in the White House. One immediate benefit was that Barack no longer had to make long daily commutes. The Oval Office was literally downstairs from where they lived! Oddly enough, as president, Barack was present for far more dinners than he ever was as a senator. But now Michelle faced a new and very unique challenge: being the First Lady. Unfortunately, the job doesn't come with a playbook. Nevertheless, Michelle was highly aware that the world was going to be watching. And since Michelle was not only First Lady but first African-American First Lady, the world was sure to be watching extra closely, and just waiting for a misstep. As a former First Lady, Hillary Clinton gave her some fair warning about potential pitfalls. One is to get too involved in the administration's agenda. Hillary was heavily criticized for wanting to use her experience as a lawyer to help set policies around health care and other issues. In her experience, the public believed the First Lady should not act as an elected official. So Michelle was careful to start initiatives that could complement the administration's policies while being their own separate endeavors. One of her first efforts was the Let's Move! initiative, created to address childhood obesity, a serious condition that has tripled over the past 30 years, leading to one in every three American kids being obese or overweight. At the heart of this program was Michelle's idea to start a White House garden. Not only would this promote eating fresh and healthy foods, but it would also support her efforts in making the White House feel more like a home than a fortress. After some negotiating, the garden project was given 1,100 square feet of soil to work with, from the White House South Lawn. Once spring arrived, Michelle and a group of fifth grade students from the local Bancroft Elementary School got to work with shovels and hoes to prepare the soil for planting. Weeks later, the press were invited to watch the planting of carrots, lettuce, onions, spinach, broccoli, fennel, collard greens, shell peas, berry bushes, and a variety of herbs. The planting of the garden received a lot of coverage in the press, which was good for the initiative, but it also came with some pressure. As any gardener knows, planting seeds doesn't always lead to sprouting vegetables. Michelle could easily envision the bad press that would come once the garden refused to cooperate. It would certainly get her tenure as First Lady off to an embarrassing start. Fortunately, the vegetables did their part. After ten weeks, the first harvest yielded 90 pounds of produce that immediately made its way into the daily meals at the White House. Before she left the White House, the garden provided an annual yield of 2,000 pounds of food.