WWOD?

I first heard Michelle Obama speak last spring during the Presidential primaries. I’d scooped Little Bitty out of school early, gone down to the city armory, and stood in a line that extended down the block, waiting. Her flight from Chicago was so much delayed that at the time she was supposed to be delivering her speech here, her plane was still on the tarmac in Illinois. But we all waited. And it was worth the wait.

What struck me most about that speech—and what has struck me consistently during these past two years (two years!) of hearing both Obamas speak—was the sense of purpose that they have individually, that they seem to share with each other and that they are offering to the nation.

She talked that day, as I’ve heard her do since, about her past—the lessons she learned from watching her father; listening to her mother; navigating school, university and the world of work. She talked about her vision for her future—the kind of people she wants her girls to become, the things she wants to do herself, the things she expects from her husband.

In the open letter to his daughters, Barack Obama outlines the same vision—one that is personal for his family, but that also places them in a larger context, so that they understand that they have an important place and an important purpose in the world. He wrote, “I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much—although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.”

If nothing else, the Obamas are deeply thoughtful. Their sense of purpose is inspirational. Whatever happens in the days to come—whatever the difficulties and triumphs—I anticipate being inspired by this family. Not in an abstract, political, nationalistic way; for me, their leadership is personal. They are a model for my family—or what I hope my family to be: A strong, sensible woman and a thoughtful, purposeful man together raising balanced, self-assured children and living out a life of intention.