Michelle Knows Best

Dear Michelle,
It seems like only yesterday I was young and without responsibility. Now I'm a single mom with a 2-year old son and it seems to take all my energy caring for him and working a full-time job. Is there a way to make this easier? Am I being selfish for wanting a few moments for myself now and then?

Kathryn
Tulsa, OK

Dear Kathryn,
A reporter once asked me in a press conference, “So, how do you get so much done?” I said, "I'm arranging state dinners, taping interviews, traveling across the globe, I'm a woman with a full plate. I think that folks like you out there should understand how women like me, who weren’t born and raised with all the privileges you White people have had, feel a passion about doing what is right.

Barack and I made a point of doing the same thing when we lived in Chicago – making the concerns of Chicago's communities our own, because we have been on both sides of the bridge. We had an activity in our household when it was time for BET, and all of us gathered around the TV cheering on people of color who were doing wonderful things that were beyond belief. And I just think, wouldn’t it be great if that kind of spirit was happening right down your street in your community?

Just think of that. Women in communities across the city, mothers on the South Side, mothers who grew up in Cabrini, even poor mothers who live in poverty and degradation look to me as an example. I hope I've inspired you.

Michelle