How the Presidency1 Made Me a Better Father

By Barack Obama

W hen you’re the President of the United States, you’re surrounded at all times—by aides, by press, by Secret Service, by crowds.2. aide: 助手，助理；press: 媒體，記者；Secret Service: 美國(guó)特工處，聯(lián)邦經(jīng)濟(jì)情報(bào)局。It’s a bubble that’s hard to escape.

That’s what makes the people with whom you surround yourself in those rare private moments all the more important.3. 對(duì)于那些你只能用極少的個(gè)人時(shí)間來(lái)陪伴的人來(lái)說(shuō)，這也使得他們變得更加重要。

It just so happens that I’m fortunate enough to be surrounded by women. They’re the most important people in my life. They’re the people who’ve shaped me the most. And in this job, they are my sanctuary4. sanctuary: 避難所，庇護(hù)所。.

People often ask me whether being President has made it more difficult to spend time with Michelle and our girls. But the surprising truth is that being in the White House has made our family life more “normal” than it’s ever been.

When Malia was born, Michelle and I were fortunate enough to spend a blissful5. blissful: 極快樂(lè)的，極幸福的。three months mostly at home with our baby girl. But then Michelle went back to work part time, and I returned to my schedule of teaching at the University of Chicago law school and serving in the state legislature6. legislature: 立法機(jī)關(guān)。. This meant that I would often be away in Spring field for three days at a time. Even when I was home in Chicago, I had papers to grade and briefs to write and evening meetings to attend.7. grade: 分級(jí)，評(píng)分；brief: 訴訟要點(diǎn)，案情摘要。

許多父親常常因?yàn)楣ぷ鞣泵Χ雎粤思彝ズ秃⒆?，然而美?guó)總統(tǒng)奧巴馬卻每天在繁忙的日程中抽出時(shí)間來(lái)陪妻子和女兒們吃晚飯、聊天，保持雷打不動(dòng)的家庭聚會(huì)習(xí)慣。他會(huì)出席女兒的家長(zhǎng)會(huì)，觀看她們的表演，參加她們的舞會(huì)，努力參與她們成長(zhǎng)的每一個(gè)階段?！拔乙惶熘凶铍y忘的時(shí)刻就是傾聽(tīng)她們對(duì)世界的看法，看著她們成為聰明、有趣、善良的年輕女子。”曾經(jīng)的美國(guó)第一夫人南?！だ锔f(shuō)過(guò)：“在白宮生活，一切都是未知的?！薄暗拇_如此，但是你的家庭會(huì)一直支持你?！眾W巴馬如是說(shuō)。

As professionals, we were blessed with the resources for things like reliable child care and takeout when we were too exhausted to cook. Our jobs afforded us the kind of flexibility8. flexibility: 靈活性。that many working families simply don’t have. Still, we each had a truckload of9. a truckload of: 大量的。student debt, which meant that when we got married, we got poorer together. So we were counting every penny to manage our household bills, pay our student loans and maintain a full-time babysitter. The combined pressures sometimes put a real strain on10. put a strain on sth.: 給……帶來(lái)負(fù)擔(dān)。our marriage, as they do for many working parents with young kids. After Sasha was born, Michelle was working while juggling11. juggle:（尤指艱難地）兼顧。our home life. I helped out, and I saw myself as a pretty enlightened12. enlightened: 開(kāi)通的，明智的。guy. But the truth was, I helped on my terms and on my schedule, and the expectations and the burden disproportionately13. on one’s terms: 根據(jù)自己的條件；disproportionately: 不成比例地。—and unfairly—fell on Michelle, as happens to many women.

Fortunately, we had the help of my wonderful mother-in-law, Marian, who lived just a few minutes away. Still, Michelle was understandably stressed and frustrated, and I suspect she felt a little like a single mom sometimes. Things didn’t get any easier when I was elected to the Senate and had to commute14. commute: 上下班往返（于工作地點(diǎn)與住所之間），通勤。back and forth to Washington every week. Then our lives were thrown completely out of balance during a presidential campaign that kept me on the road almost constantly—leaving Michelle to carry an even heavier load for longer stretches of time.

That’s why I call her the rock of our family—because she is. She always has been.

Still, we didn’t know what to expect when I became President. We knew I might have even less time for our family. We knew that uprooting15. uproot: 使（某人）遷居他處（尤指搬遷帶來(lái)困難或煩擾時(shí)）。Malia and Sasha from their friends and school and community in Chicago would be challenging. So for good measure, we brought Marian with us to ease the transition and to be with them when Michelle and I couldn’t.16. 另外，我們將瑪麗安帶在身邊，這樣我和米歇爾不在的時(shí)候，瑪麗安可以陪伴她們，緩和她們?cè)谶^(guò)渡時(shí)期的心情。for good measure:另外；transition: 過(guò)渡。

But to our surprise, moving to the White House was really the first time since the girls were born that we’ve been able to gather as a family almost every night. Michelle and I can go to parent-teacher conferences together. I’ve been able to make Malia’s tennis matches and Sasha’s dance recitals17. dance recital: 獨(dú)舞表演。. Sasha let me help coach her basketball team—the Vipers. They won the title18. title: （體育比賽的）冠軍。. I’ve even experienced what all dads dread: watching my daughter go to her first prom.19. dread: 害怕，擔(dān)憂；prom:（常在學(xué)年末舉行的）高中生的正式舞會(huì)。In high heels.

So it’s not always easy being a father of teenage girls. But it is pretty good to live above the store.

Even with our jam-packed days, Michelle and I work hard to carve out certain blocks of family time that are sacrosanct.20. 即使在我們忙得不可開(kāi)交的日子里，米歇爾和我仍然努力從中擠出時(shí)間，保持雷打不動(dòng)的家庭聚會(huì)習(xí)慣。jam-packed: 擠滿的；a block of time: 一段時(shí)間；sacrosanct: 不可改變的，神圣不可侵犯的。For example, at 6:30 p.m., no matter how busy I am, I leave work to go upstairs and have dinner with my family. That’s inviolable21. inviolable: 不可侵犯的，不容忽視的。. My staff knows that it pretty much takes a national emergency to keep me away from that dinner table. As a night owl, I’d rather stay up late reading brie fings and working on speeches after everybody has gone to bed anyway.22. night owl: 夜貓子；briefing: 簡(jiǎn)報(bào)。

So for an hour or so at dinner, my focus is not on my day,but on theirs. I ask Sasha and Malia the usual annoying parental questions: How was school? What are your friends up to? Have you done your homework? What are you thinking about? In return, they spend a lot of time teasing me about my big ears or stodgy suits23. tease: 取笑，逗弄；stodgy: 墨守成規(guī)的，古板守舊的?！猘nd Michelle is always happy to join them.

Now they’re at an age when they’re well-informed24. well-informed: 消息靈通的，見(jiàn)聞廣博的。, so they often ask me questions about issues. Like a lot of young people,for instance, they’re deeply interested in the environment. Like most in their generation, they take it for granted that people shouldn’t be treated differently because of their gender or race or sexual orientation25. sexual orientation: 性取向。or disability. They have every expectation that they and young women just like them can grow up to be anything they want to be. The highlight of my day is just listening to their thoughts about the world and seeing what smart, funny,kind young women they’ve become.26. 我一天中最難忘的時(shí)刻就是傾聽(tīng)她們對(duì)世界的看法，看著她們成為如此聰明、有趣、善良的年輕女子。highlight: 最精彩（或最難忘、最有趣）的部分。That hour recharges me and gives me perspective.27. recharge: 休整，使（某人）恢復(fù)精力；perspective: 理性的判斷，洞察力。And those moments where I can just be Dad—even if it’s “Daaaaaaad”—well, there’s nothing better.

Michelle does her best to preserve that time, and it has made a huge difference. Like I said, she’s our rock. Whatever comes up, I know that they’ll be there for me. And I will always be there for them. These days, the girls occasionally miss a night because they’re so busy with school and activities. And like many parents of high school juniors who are excitedly touring college campuses, I’m already dreading that empty seat at the table when Malia goes off to school next fall. I can feel myself lingering at the table a little longer, trying to stave off the passage of time.28. 我希望在餐桌上多停留一段時(shí)間，努力拖延一些時(shí)間。linger: 留戀，逗留；stave off: 延緩，防止；the passage of time: 時(shí)光的流逝。But for as long as possible, I’m going to enjoy every minute of finally having us all together under one roof.

First Lady Nancy Reagan once wrote, “Nothing can prepare you for living in the White House.”29. 第一夫人南?！だ锔?jīng)寫道：“在白宮生活，一切都是未知的?！盨he was right, of course.Nothing can prepare you. But your family can sustain30. sustain: 支撐，支持。you.