On Monday, March 28, my family and I were among the more than 30,000 children and family members who attended the White House Easter Egg Roll. In all its pomp and circumstance, it was everything I’d imagined — a lawn littered with little girls in adorable straw hats, bright sweaters and pastel shoes, and little boys with perfectly placed bow ties and blazers. Just three days prior, I’d been informed that I was able to snag a last minute ticket to POTUS’ time slot. One day prior, I drove around to every mall in the area and realized that (yikes) stores are closed on Easter. And just one hour prior, the skies were starting to clear and the torrential downpours of the night before would leave the ground muddy, but bearable. In my 28 years living in Washington, D.C., I was having a minor meltdown.
Of course, I’d been in rooms with people in high places and fancy titles, but I’d only been to The White House when I was 5 years old. And this was the Obamas’ last White House Easter Egg Roll Hunt, and my baby girl was getting her first — of hopefully, many — experiences to see a side of Washington, D.C. that evokes power at such an early age. And it was our last chance to get a glimmer of an African-American first family who threw such fantastic events (or so I’ve read) and looked like the three of us.
I opted for simple and classic with a crisp white shirt, mom jeans (hey, they’re in style now) and Burberry Rain Boots that I’d nabbed at an extremely discounted rate because this is The White House and, if I’m strapped for time, at least there’s expensive-ish looking rain boots.
My daughter, Ava, was a different story. What do you put on a 1-year-old on a muddy Easter Monday in a time crunch? I’d gone to Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus and realized that my millennial pockets were better off without printed $200 a-line dresses for 1-year-olds. Plus, I knew the weather called for rain. But maybe we could replace her dinosaur red and green rain boots? The pressure.
On Monday morning, I dressed her in a denim romper, crisp white blouse (okay, yes, like mama) and pink dotted white tights, and, yep, red and green dinosaur rain boots. I threw her fuschia chucks (Converse) in her diaper bag. They matched and have probably received more compliments than any article of clothing I’ve owned — ever.
So, we’re standing in line on what turned out to be a beautiful morning with all of these beautiful families. I felt like Charlie from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Was this real? How the hell did I really snag a golden ticket for POTUS timeslot and, most importantly, is this really what I’m wearing?
We navigated our way across the South Lawn. A total novice, I’d stuffed my map in my plastic bag and pretended I was one of those fierce moms who knew what she was doing. We’d heard Elmo, but I knew there were bigger fish to fry (Sorry Elmo, see you at Sesame Place). We moseyed our way to the front of the South Lawn where a small crowd gathered in hopes of seeing President Obama and Mrs. Obama deliver their eloquent and memorable speech at their last Easter Egg Roll Hunt.
I took maybe 89 photos from my outdated iPhone because I wasn’t going to get closer to POTUS than this. I looked across and saw Gizelle Bryant from the Real Housewives of Potomac standing in our same area and knew we were in the right spot. My fiancé then began his role as a real Instagram Husband of D.C.
We snapped photos throughout the day of our camera ham toddler, and she loved every decked out character (seriously, the costumes were incredible) and sitting in the muddy grass when she got restless (yas, denim and yas, green and red rainboots).
After dragging my fiance from the PJ Masks meet-and-greet line, I guided us to the Easter Egg Roll Hunt line. Casually strolling in front of us were POTUS, FLOTUS, Bo and Sunny. Do you know how long I’d waited for this moment? I’d never had an up-close POTUS sighting or cool story to tell until that moment. And Mrs. Obama’s hair was laid for the gods and she was as glorious as I could have ever imagined. She was stunningly casual, but I wouldn’t expect any less.
My daughter and I then proceeded to the Easter Egg Roll, where I helped her hack a cracked, spotted-blue dyed egg down a wet lawn. We saw dozens of photographers at the end of the foot-long roll. “Hey, what outlet do you work for?” I asked, as my PR kicked in and I knew I’d have to monitor for any potential coverage. I didn’t get my hopes up, though — a million cameras, a million cute kids — what are the odds?
But later I Googled my kid’s name, and that wire photo had made it across some fairly splashy and top-tier places. I was a proud mama bear, of course, but hadn’t thought about the symbolism: A casual black mom and daughter followed suit with the Obamas’ casual, cool legacy and were super proud to attend the first African-American family’s last Easter Egg Roll Hunt. I couldn’t have been prouder.
Check out the picture of Ava here: White House Adds Fun Run to Annual Easter Egg Roll
What has been your favorite memory from the Obama presidency? Let us know in the comments below!
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Unapologetically nostalgic. Fangirl of Chocolate City D.C. & female protagonists. Mama. Writer.@TotalBetty202
