The Obama Diary

First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks during the annual Mother’s Day tea to honor military mothers at the White House. Part of the Joining Forces initiative, First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden also helped military kids create Mother’s Day cards and homemade gifts, which the children presented to their mothers and grandmothers.

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ABC News: First Lady Praises Her Mom At Mother’s Day Event

Extending the Mother’s Day celebration by a day, Michelle Obama on Monday saluted military mothers for the sacrifices they make both for their families and their country, and she honored her own mother as the person who keeps her “standing up straight on my feet.” The first lady joked that her mother, Marian Robinson, “never comes to anything” at the White House, except this annual Mother’s Day tea for military moms. Mrs. Obama and Jill Biden, Vice President Joe Biden’s wife, co-host the event as part of Joining Forces, their nationwide initiative to encourage the public to support military families and veterans. Speaking of her mother, Mrs. Obama said the event “gives me an opportunity, once a year, to embarrass her by publicly stating how much my mom has meant to me.” Mrs. Robinson lives in the White House. She sat in the front row for the East Room event.

“There is no way I would be standing up straight on my feet if it weren’t for my mom, who is always there to look after our girls, to love them and to be mad at me when I’m disciplining them,” she told dozens of military mothers, grandmothers and children. Mrs. Obama said mother also has “been that shoulder for me to lean on.” “I can always go up to her room and cry, complain, argue and she just says, ‘Go on back down there,'” Mrs. Obama said. “So if my mom reflects the love and support the moms here have given to their families, then we’re in a good place here.” Near the end of the ceremony, a girl raised her hand and, in a tearful voice, told Mrs. Obama she didn’t get to do all the crafts with the first lady. Mrs. Obama linked the girl with an aide and promised that “you’re going to do every single craft that we have.”

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Singer-songwriter Norah Jones holds her new baby as the stands next to her mother Sue Jones after singing during the annual Mother’s Day tea to honor military mothers, hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden visit with children working on crafts as they host their annual Mother’s Day tea to honor military mothers