A formidable figure in her own right. The quintessential Executive Mother (no abbreviations for Michelle) who serves as a role model just by being her inspirational self. I dedicate this posting to the next First Lady of the United States, Mrs. Michelle LaVaughn Obama. For most of us in my generation, this year, Barack moved from obscurity (though he was working hard and smart for many years before we even knew who this man was), and into our homes, our lives and our hearts. Since then, Michelle has neither clamored for the limelight nor shied away from the public. She seemed to say, in a graceful but unmistakable way, "I'm doing what I do. You are free to scrutinize, judge and comment, but my daughters and my husband, and the life we've created will continue to unfold and rise while you sit around and watch." I know many of us, women in general, and black women in particular, have held our secret in-heart vigils for Michelle as she worked hard to keep her daughters' feet on the ground amidst the surrealism of their parents' journey to the White House. She will continue to face that task, but I feel confident that she will hold it down, the phenomenal woman that she is.

I feel connected to Michelle Obama, as a woman and a mother, and particularly as a working mother. Moreover, I am inspired by and thankful for a peek into Michelle's live as I can draw on her numerous examples of tenacity, womanhood and an unfaltering commitment to her family. I am blessed to have a husband in whom I hold a great deal of faith and respect. He is ambitious, kind, intelligent, unyieldingly optimistic and a magnificent father to our daughters. He is an entrepreneur and we operate in tandem as we build what we plan to pass on to our daughters. He and I have been great friends for 15 years, and married for 6. Throughout those years, we have learned to believe in and support each other, and I can truly say that we are homies! Michelle has made no bones about her support for her husband's decision, and she trusted him (and herself) enough to step away from her career and lessen her time with her beautiful brown girls to work with Barack and walk with him toward his goal. Those types of decisions can be difficult for women who push past hurdles to educate themselves and aggressively pursue their career goals, obstacles abound. We nurture our careers as for some of us, they are our "first children", and eventually some of us have daughters and sons and of course, they become our top priority and over time, we manage to embrace the imbalance of what I call in my book* PWP (Parenting While Pursuing). Add to that keeping our marriages nurtured and managing our household, and the stakes are high, but the rewards are many.

Michelle reminds me that indeed, YES WE CAN!

YES WE CAN, keep sight of ourselves and our goals and still fully support our partners.
YES WE CAN, show our daughters and sons what a close-knit BLACK family can achieve.
YES WE CAN, embrace our culture and inspire others at the same time. There is no need to try to "sound" or "act" as anything but the intelligent BLACK person that you are.

Michelle, you and your family have secured your place in history as a true example of the fortitude and ultimate success of a working black family. Thank you!

THE CHANGE HAS COME!

*Execumama: A Pocket-guide for the Twenty-something Mommy on the Move. Available at Amazon.com