For friends who see Michelle Obama often, things are going to change
They say you can lose a husband and it doesn’t hurt as much as it does to lose a close girlfriend.
So while America celebrates its new first family, Michelle Obama’s girlfriends are slowly coming to grips with what Tuesday’s victory means.
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“We’ve been good friends for a long time and I’m going to have to share her,” said Yvonne Davila who’s been friends with Michelle Obama for 18 years.
“I see her all the time. We spend lots of time together and now that’s going to change.”
A lot has been said about Barack Obama’s meteoric rise.
But before Obama landed on the national stage, his wife was a behind-the-scenes soccer mom whose professional career had taken a back seat to her role as a mother and supportive wife.
With the transition already underway for an Obama presidential administration, Mrs. Obama’s role will shift quickly.
As the first black woman to move into the White House, the nation is curious about how Michelle, a Harvard-educated lawyer who hails from the South Side, will hold up under constant scrutiny.
Although she has been in the media spotlight for nearly two years, that is nothing compared to the glare awaiting her.
On Wednesday, Michelle woke up to a talk-show blast about the dress she chose for the victory celebration.
The red and black sheath designed by Narcisco Rodriguez was one of the hot topics on “The View” and it lit up radio talk shows.
A lot of people hated the dress.
That’s the kind of thing Davila and Michelle would giggle about while their daughters play.
“When we get together on Saturdays and our kids are doing ballet and soccer, we talk about all kinds of issues,” Davila said.
Now, there’s sure to be a lot more to talk about.
Everything from Michelle’s pony-tail to her bare legs will be spoofed on late-night talk shows.
Davila says her girlfriend will do just fine.
“Michelle is grounded in the sense that she is a woman just like you and me. She is a working mom. A girlfriend. A wife. She is a regular person and I think that is what makes her special and what resonates with people. People can see themselves in her,” Davila said.
“I think she is going to handle it with incredible grace because she has been handling it with incredible grace, she is going to be okay with it.”
Davilas’ two daughters are the best friends of Sasha and Malia Obama. When Michelle was on the campaign trail, she would often call on her friend to lend a hand.
“Contrary to anything that has been said, Michelle is very hands-on and does her children’s schedule,” Davila said.
“The most important thing is her children and welfare of her children in every sense of the word.”
Davila pointed to Michelle’s decision to host a sleepover for her daughters during the height of the Democratic National Convention.
“I expect she will do the same thing at the White House,” she said. “That’s part of who she is. She is serious about keeping her kids grounded.”
It is Michelle Obama’s intense devotion to her daughters and family that makes Michelle Obama uniquely suited to the role of first lady.
“Women and children’s issues are incredibly important to her,” Davila said. “She knows first hand what it means to be a wife, to be a working mother, to be a friend and have to balance all of that.
“When we get together and talk, sometimes we thought we were solving the problems of the world.”
During the long campaign, Michelle Obama would often hold round-table discussions with women to talk about her husband’s campaign.
“Some of what she had been doing with her girlfriends, she took on the road,” Davila said.
“She’s going to be an amazing first lady.”
Michelle Obama is her husband’s “best friend,” the “rock” and “love of his life.”
She has also been a good friend to her girlfriends.
They wish her well in Washington.
But she will be missed.