Michelle Obama Remembers 'Sinking Feeling' When Barack Postponed Christmas Plans

Dec 30, 2019 by apost team

In her best-selling biography 'Becoming', Michelle Obama recounted plans that the family had to visit Barack's grandma in Hawaii for the holiday season. However, things didn't turn out as planned. In fact, it would become something of a pattern for the Obamas due to the former president's busy schedule.

While Christmas and New Year are a time for families to spend together, there are circumstances when the pressure of work requires you to put off your personal life for business commitments. Former first lady, Mrs. Obama, told of a difficult time when Barack Obama faced such a dilemma when he was rising through the political ranks in Illinois, reports the International Business Times.

Although the family was able to celebrate some meaningful and memorable holidays throughout the years, there were also some trying times. In the memoir 'Becoming', Michelle spoke of a Christmas where Barack decided to cut a planned holiday trip to Hawaii short due to work. This happened when Barack was a senator for the state of Illinois.

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In her biography, Michele wrote that the tickets had already been booked and the whole schedule had been planned meticulously. Michele, Barack, and young Malia were intending to spend some precious holiday time with Barack's grandma, Toot. Unfortunately, there was a lot going on in the senate in Illinois.

The International Business Times reports that the senate had just had a marathon debate over the issue of a crime bill. Michelle didn't want to hear from her husband when he mentioned that the trip might have to be postponed. She quickly came around, however, after realizing that nothing could be done. After all, she was married to a popular and charismatic senator.

In her book, Michelle talked about how important the trip was in her eyes. She didn't want Barack's grandma spending the holidays alone. She also wanted to take the time to relax, get away from work, and reconnect with her family. In the end, the Obamas made it to Hawaii only two days before the 25th. The power couple even managed to spend some time with Toot in her own apartment.

Although the Obamas had finally made it to Hawaii, that didn't stop things in the senate from moving forward. On Christmas day, Barack realized that he had to leave for Illinois immediately. A call on his work phone revealed that the state senate was going into session once again. Michelle was sad, but she knew her husband had to leave. In her book, she recalled having a "sinking heart" as her husband went about rebooking flights and inevitably "pulling the plug" on their vacation.

'Becoming' features another incident that shook Michelle Obama to her very core, the IBT continues. It was after the catastrophic shooting at Sandy Hook in Newton, Connecticut. It was 2012 and Barack's first term as U.S. President was coming to an end. He was already preparing to relaunch his re-election campaign. Barack ended up speaking at a small prayer vigil held for the victims, their families, and others from the community. Michelle admitted that she wasn't able to join Barack at the service.

The interfaith vigil was held in honor of those who lost their lives in the tragic shooting. Barack Obama struggled throughout this speech and broke down several times. Michelle was so devastated by the event that she was in need of comfort instead of being able to comfort those impacted by the shooting.

If you found this story to be interesting and perhaps to be relatable about a family member that had to put off important plans to deal with work, show it to a family member or friend who would like to read Michelle's new memoir.