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For President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, family dinners arecrucial. “They're absolutely important. I mean, Barack and I have tried to holdfast to the family dinner, almost every evening,” the first lady told NBC’s TODAYcontributing correspondent Jenna Bush Hager, who is no stranger to growing up inthe White House. “I mean, now we've got kids who have sports and, you know,dances and things like that.”
Michelle knows the importance of family dinners Photo: Getty Images
The mother of Malia, 16, and Sasha, 13, continued, “That's really the time when you get to hear, youknow, the little things and the voice of your kids that might be wrong orright, you know? You can kind of check their temperature.”
Michelle and Barack also get to reflect over a “goodmeal.” The 51-year-old , who wore a navy dress for the TODAY interview, explained, “It’s a good opportunity for Barack to just forget about the worries of the world that he carries around. And we can just be a family.”
Growing up, it was no different for Michelle. “There was a pattern to what we ate,” she told Cooking Light's March issue about her childhood meals. “There were familiar flavors … we would sit around the table with the plastic tablecloth, and that’s when we would catch up and we’d talk about what we were eating, talk about what was going on in the day.”
For the last several years, her table has been much more formal than when she was a kid, but with her decorating skills, the White House dining room has never looked better. Michelle recently made some much-needed changes to the famous hall as the last person to spruce it up was Jackie Kennedy in 1963.
Don't worry — Mrs. Obama kept some original pieces including a decades-old crystalchandelier. She did add some more modern flare that included a1966 painting by Alma Thomas, the first African-American woman artist to befeatured in the White House. Other new pieces included are works by Robert Rauschenberg,Josef Albers and Anni Albers.
The former dining room Photo: The White House
The newly decorated dining room, courtesy of Michelle Obama's touch Photo: Amanda Lucidon/ The White House
“It’s a real statement inmodern craftsmanship,” she mentioned to Jenna. "It's kind ofunbelievable that we haven't done this before. Because modern art and design issuch an important part of the American tradition.”
Just like anyone else picking out new items for a home,Michelle felt the task stressful. She said, “You have a really hugeresponsibility to make sure that the changes reflect the values of the house,that they reflect the values of the country.”
On Tuesday, Michelle and Jenna got to see theapproval of the public by surprising visitors taking the White House publictour. The two unveiled the newly renovated dining room that was paid for by adonation from the White House Historical Association.
Michelle and Jenna sought the approval from visitors on the White House tour Photo: Amanda Lucidon/ The White House
“Living here is such a gift. And youfeel an awesome sense of responsibility to make sure you're taking care of thishouse,” the First Lady stated. “But you also want to make sure that Americansfeel like it's their home, too.”
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Job well done Michelle!