Michelle Obama says that one of the last conversations she had with her mother shaped the way she thinks about growing older.
Speaking at an event at People’s headquarters in New York City on Wednesday, Obama recounted a brief exchange she had with her mother, Marian Robinson, before her death in May 2024, per People.
While watching TV together one day, Obama recalled how her mother leaned over and said, “Wow, that was quick.” When Obama asked her what she meant, Robinson replied, “Life.”
“That’s all she said, but what I got from that was even in her practical-minded way, that you’re never ready. And I don’t think that she was done living. It just comes, and then life is over,” Obama said. “I was like, ‘Let me hear that. Let me understand that, that even with a wonderful life, I want to be present.’ “
Obama, who turned 61 in January, said that mantra guides the way she wants to live “this last chapter” of her life.
After years spent raising her daughters and standing beside her husband, Barack Obama, through public life, the former first lady said she’s finally at a stage where she can make choices based on what she wants.
“This is the first time in my life where every single decision I make is mine. It’s what I want to do,” she said. “What do I want, what do I feel? This is the first time that I’ve been able to do that for me, no excuses. That means that the consequences are mine, too, and there’s a freedom with that.”
Obama added that being in her 60s has made her all the more “mindful” of how she spends her time.
“If I’m lucky, I live to 90 and that’s 30 good summers,” she said.
This isn’t the first time that Obama has shared her thoughts about growing older.
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In an interview with People, published on Monday, Obama said that although she’s embracing her age, she still expects to keep coloring her gray hair.
“My mother dyed her hair until the day she died. She had a beautiful sandy color blonde that mixed in well with the gray. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to be doing that too,'” she said.
During an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Wednesday, Obama said growing older has given her the freedom to live life on her own terms.
“The beauty about understanding my power of saying no, it frees me up to say a lot of yes. But yes to the things that I want to do in the way that I want to do them. I think that’s something, you know, you get at 61,” Obama told Colbert.
She added that, like many women, it took her “a lifetime” to feel confident in her abilities and to own her wisdom.
“We need a lifetime of success to say, ‘Well, maybe I know something. Maybe I got a few things right. Maybe I can trust my gut, finally, at 61,'” Obama said.
