A look inside Michelle Obama’s tight-knit inner circle: Part 3

[Music] here at virtue restaurant in Chicago's High Park neighborhood Michelle Obama and her closest confidants catch up [Music] [Applause] a support system Michelle calls her kitchen table YouTube oh my gosh wow it's the little one well let's head over to the table you're gonna have to introduce me to everybody come on it's friends family food and a whole lot of laughter Oh this smells good sit down little lady at the kitchen table and scooch in what is it about it doesn't matter where you are especially when you're someone's home you always gravitate toward the kitchen we all have these Southern Roots so this notion of a kitchen table because you couldn't sit in the living room you know in these uncertain times because I had to ask myself what keeps me Steady and upright when through hard times and number one on my list is my community of of girlfriends at the table today Dr Sharon Malone and journalist Michelle Norris my DC home girls Sandy Matthews a long time Chicago friend and children's Advocate because we actually met at the hair salon when we were both pregnant I invited a friend who Michelle also know those author and film producer Tanya Lewis Lee it was 2007 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and Tanya and three other girlfriends five of us they said we're going to have a regular lunch and one of the main sources of Michelle's strength her mom Marion Robinson Marion Robinson the littlest grandma on the planet she's so small all throughout my life I have relied on a solid group of women my mom being the head of that table that keep me grounded that they remind me who I am they make me laugh at a place that is safe where you can finally breathe exhale and oftentimes complain it all starts with them up because even way back you would have a little kitchen tables oh yeah folks would come over right and you had it with your children PB and J wasn't that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that one's her the rest of us didn't have PP issues she just refused to eat anything else okay all right don't tell Mom I'll talk about it together I mean everything from A to Z honestly politics um husbands husbands husbands husbands yes husbands um you know I think ourselves our lives where we are it's a great check-in for us all one of the things I love about you is that you love the connections that we all make I've known Sharon for a long time but I've gotten to know Sandy you know there are other people that I've gotten to know and so it's almost like she's a conductor and she's created this and you Rebel that we're all together I think especially as black women we need a space to be seen and heard I think Robin we have our lunches sometimes it's just about whether it's complaining or talking things out just being able to be heard is important because you know there some sometimes there are things about your husband or your partner that you don't want to say to them breach the kitchen table is especially in the places where we reside where a complaint about your husband can wind up on TMZ right um a a mild you know kind of I'm not feeling X well you need to get that out and we were that you know I mean these women were safe for me you know and I know both of you feel that as people who are high profile where you can't just readily don't you dare complain you got a black man with a job and he's doing XYZ you know and that happens just by saying well he's not perfect he still doesn't make his bed any better I can't quite get his socks in the dirty clothes he leaves his socks out well you would have thought that I had you know uh I committed a crime and I learned I couldn't speak what was so beautiful about you saying that though was it was like oh right I'm not the only one in the circumstance you know I appreciated your your candor in that you know because my husband leaves his stuff all over the place too Spike no for Michelle there's no better teacher than her mom when it comes to marital negotiation the great toilet paper uh debate of 1960 that almost you know you had just gotten married got married first argument about the toilet paper which way to hang it oh there's a way to hang toilet paper and mine and his did not click are you over or under I am now under because when I grew up I was over but I decided I was not going to fight over toilet paper [Laughter] and I gave and I picked it back and it wasn't going to be the toilet paper you know you wanted your mama to write a book she she's like no way I love how she said I don't want to tell people how to live don't you just tell them I'm not telling them how to live but you did share your maxims so can you share a few of I always said that I was Raising adults not children but you don't want them to have to wait until they're grown to learn how to be grown you want them to be practicing that all their life like you go away to college don't let that be the first time you do laundry but we also come from a generation of helicoptering you know and I know we all talk about we we compare our kids like college visits it's like do you remember it's like my mother never did any college visits with me I don't think you knew I took the SAT you know it was one of those things we were all kind of just like oh you're oh you got into a school okay well I what was your responsibility and it wasn't mine I told her I already graduated it's up to you to get an education and get a job Mrs Robinson also shares another tip about parenting which she says freed her I ask my kids to question me and when they started question me I started questioning myself and I decided they asked me these questions I don't know all these answers so I'm going to just let them know I don't know and I love saying it I don't know and it gives me uh it releases me from trying to be perfect because once you decide you don't have to know everything then you can relax hi everyone George Stephanopoulos here thanks for checking out the ABC News YouTube channel if you'd like to 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Channel: ABC News

Views: 293,229

Keywords: Michelle, Obama, candid, circle, conversation, inner, inside, look, p_cmsid=2494279, p_vid=news-93245855, tight-knit

Id: mCiOR1GOgv4

Length: 7min 50sec (470 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 14 2022