As the mother of young children, one of the things that strikes me over and over when I see pictures of the Obama family, is what a sacrifice they are truly making to serve their country.  I can’t imagine subjecting my family to the kind of life the Obama girls will be living for the next four to eight years.

They won’t be able to make a move without the Secret Service, play dates will require background checks, getting from Point A to Point B in Washington will mean stopping traffic.  And however much he prioritizes them, how could Barack Obama be there for the girls to the extent he could be if he weren’t the most powerful individual in the free world, ready to answer that 3:00 am phone call when the time comes?

FDR’s grandson, Curtis Roosevelt, who held fundraisers for Barack Obama from his home in the South of France, has recently published a new memoir about growing up in the White House.  Roosevelt has some advice for the Obamas, and he shared it with The Daily Beast:

“I hope the Obama children are sufficiently prepared to have some grounding and some identity of their own. I do get the idea that Barack and Michelle are good parents. Parenting is something they have focused on and the kids show it. I hope it helps protect them to some degree from the specialness that affected me all my life. I hope they are able to ward off some of that and preserve their own identities, because otherwise, they will be affected by the people putting onto them a personality.”

I hear Roosevelt, and I know he’s right, even though I’m star-struck by these beautiful little girls and just as crazed as anyone to see their latest pictures and find out what they’re wearing.  But in my mother’s heart I do hope Michelle can keep the press at bay, find quiet places for them to be normal kids with normal friendships and grow up as healthily as possible.

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