米歇爾•奧巴馬 白宮生活感覺很棒

Few things are as sweet to a parent as family meals and bedtime with the kids, and those are two reasons Michelle Obama says her new life at the White House is comforting.

In an interview for the March 9 issue of People magazine, the First Lady reveals some details of her family life in the month since President Barack Obama was inaugurated, and they moved their daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7 into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C.

After more than a year living out of suitcases and in hotel rooms on the campaign trail, Michelle Obama says the family now has dinner together every night, where they talk about the highs and lows of their day. Later the president is able to tuck his children into bed before they drift off to sleep.

"We haven't had that kind of time together for (years), so that explains a lot why we all feel so good in this space," the First Lady told People magazine.

Among their daily routine is exercise for her and her husband at 5:30 in the morning and breakfast together before their respective days begin. She said the secrets to their successful marriage include being able to laugh together and his ability to stay calm under stress.

But she stopped well short of saying they are a model of married perfection. "I don't want anybody to think it's easy. It works because we really work at it ... We have a strong marriage, but it's not perfect."

She did say her husband has quit smoking, for now, and that Malia and Sasha must still do their chores -- make their beds, clean their rooms and clear the dishes from the dinner table.

"People (here) want to make your life easy, and when you have small kids -- I've explained this to the staff -- they don't need their lives to be easy. They're kids," she said.

And what about the president's promise to get a dog for the girls? The First Lady said it is on the way, but is waiting until April, after the girls have had their spring break from school. But she has a problem -- the name.

The girls have come up with several ideas, including Frank and Moose, but mom Obama is not going for those. "I'm like, no. Come on. Let's work with the names a little bit," she said.

對於父母來說，沒有什麼比全家聚餐和陪孩子睡覺更幸福了，而這也正是米歇爾•奧巴馬如此享受白宮新生活的兩大原因。

在接受將於3月9日出版的《人物》雜誌的採訪時，這位第一夫人透露了奧巴馬就任總統一個月以來家庭生活的一些細節。奧巴馬就任後，他和米歇爾攜兩個女兒（10歲的瑪麗亞和7歲的薩沙）搬至位於華盛頓特區賓夕法尼亞大道1600號的白宮。

在經歷了一年多提着箱子東奔西走、住旅館的競選生活後，米歇爾說現在全家每天都可以一起吃晚餐，說說一天的大事小情。晚飯過後，身爲總統的奧巴馬還能哄孩子們上牀睡覺。

米歇爾在接受採訪時說：“我們已經很多年沒有這樣的時光了，這就是現在我們覺得很快樂的原因。”

奧巴馬和米歇爾每天清晨5點半起牀鍛鍊，然後共進早餐，之後便開始各忙各的。米歇爾說，他們婚姻成功的祕訣在於，兩人可以一起開懷大笑，而且奧巴馬能在壓力之下保持冷靜。

但米歇爾並不認爲他們是完美婚姻的典範。“我不想讓人們覺得這是件容易的事。我們的婚姻之所以有今天這個樣子是因爲我們真的是在努力地經營它……我們的婚姻很牢固，但並不完美。”

據米歇爾介紹，奧巴馬現在已經戒菸，瑪麗亞和薩沙仍然要做些她們力所能及的事情---比如鋪牀、打掃房間收拾餐具。

她說：“這裏的人都想讓我們輕鬆些，但我已經向大家解釋過了，當有孩子的時候，別讓他們過得太安逸，他們還是孩子。”

那麼總統許諾給女兒們養只寵物狗的事情進展如何？米歇爾稱這件事正在進行之中，但要等到4月份孩子們放春假之後。但現在有個問題——那就是給小狗取什麼名字。

女兒們想了好幾個名字，如弗蘭克和穆斯等，但米歇爾不打算採用。她說：“我不是很贊成，何不再多想想呢！”

Vocabulary:

stop short of:to decide not to do something（決定不做某事）