Arianna On The Value of "First Granny" Moving Into the White House

Inspired by the news that "First Granny" Marian Robinson is moving to Washington, Arianna reflected on the importance of having grandmothers be a part of their grandchildren's lives.

Watch the segment from MSNBC.

Comments

[Yayaof2]

Please Yiayia go to the White House. Do it for the senior citizens of the world as well as for Malia and Sasha.

[mapleaforever]

Singed !

REAL family values at work.

[redheaded1]

My grandmother died 24 years ago and I miss her every single day. She was the illegitimate daughter of a prostitute who was raised by her own grandparents, who were dirt-poor sharecroppers. She never spent one day feeling sorry for herself and found her greatest joy in doing for others.

As I have gotten older, I have come to treasure her memory, and value her tenderness, wisdom, humor, humility, honesty, and charity as qualities that set her apart as a person, and characteristics I strive to emulate.

[osusana]

Seeing the pictures of the Obama and Biden families watching the returns on election night, there was one photo that moved me deeply: Barack and his Mother in Law sitting side by side on a couch, easily and tenderly holding hands as they watched the TV. This is not just his Mother in Law, this is the only Mother he has left, and the affection between them is palpable.

What a lovely, loving family - what grace and class they will bring to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave!

[Ugonna]

he said that she grabbed his hand when it was becoming clear that he was winning. He said he thinks she was overwhelmed to be witnessing the emergence of the first African American president of the U.S.. And that she was the mother of the first AA First Lady.

[legs1]

Angels fly because they take themselves lightly - thank you, Arianna, for sharing a personal moment with us it brought a tear to my eye.

[llisa]

I always thought that the only person who could raise my kids as well as I could was my mother. No nanny loves your children as much as their grandmother. Marion Robinson is the best person to care for those sweet little girls.

You asked, "Where are the grandparents?" Well, an awful lot of them are still working. Most grandparents of small children are in their 40's, 50's or 60's. Retirement is not economically feasible. And many live far away from their grandchildren, mostly because of the jobs of the parents and grandparents.

We had to move 300 miles from my parents when our children were small because that's where the jobs were. But when there was need (a child's hospitalization, my illness), my Mom would drop everything and break the speed limit all the way here to take care of us.

It is wonderful that Marion is willing and able to be there for her family. She should not let anyone keep her from moving to the White House if that is what she and her family want.

[NewOrlinNC]

Even when one has doting parents around, there is no substitute for the love of grandparents. The special bond the two girls share with Mrs. Robinson enriches all of their lives, and hopefully Michelle's nieces and nephews can come visit often. And she can visit them frequently in Chicago.
And it sure would be nice to see Grandma get some pampering at the White House after having struggled at the lower rungs of the economic ladder her whole life.

[Robespierre]

HERE is the petition link as posted above:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/we-want-a-first-granny

Go and sign it. This is one of what will be many demonstrations of true family values by the Obama administration.

Jan 20 can't get here fast enough!!!

[Freeholder48]

I signed the petition.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/we-want-a-first-granny

God bless and keep our new first family safe, happy and well.

[swkidder]

Arianna: Would you please publish the address of the petition created by the first person to comment, and/or create one of your own that's highly visible? We really do need to get 1,000,000 signatures to this one.

[Pavane]

Yes, Granny should be at the White House. Because Barack and Michelle will often be busy, Sasha and Malia will benefit greatly from Marion's presence. As for Marion ... this way she can still be with her daughter and family. I LOVE it. What a wonderful example for us all.

[spartanmom]

Okay, here it is. Spread it around

"We the undersigned, want to let Marion Robinson know that the American people support her presence in the Obama White House.

We welcome the example of a traditional extended family that it would set for our nation.

We believe that ensuring the well being of the Obama children is in the National interest

And we therefore urge Ms. Robinson to take our support into consideration as she and her family work through this important decision."

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/we-want-a-first-granny

Do something

Be Change

[ohmetoo]

Well I signed up, that was fun. I think that it is appropriate for Granny to go to the White House!

[kasv]

I'll sign with pleasure, in memory of my two wonderful grandmothers, and the two wonderful grandmothers of my own children. I don't understand the mindset of those who oppose saying things like "I don't want my taxes feeding Obama's mother-in-law." Maybe they don't have close relationships with their grandmas. I don't think there was any opposition to Mamie's Mom wintering in the WH, or Bess Truman's Mom who moved in to the WH.

[Knowitall]

Wow! Somebody actually said they don't want "their tax money feeding Obama's mother-in-law"??? How callous can you get! I think people are forgetting that Mrs. Robinson did not live with the Obama's in Chicago. She had her own place. Which tells me that she was probably living off of Social Security and/or her husband's pension.

She looks like a normal sized woman, so maybe she can pay back these tax payers the $30 or $40 dollars a week worth of food she'll eat in the White House. And Maybe since Obama will be working for a salary, he can help her out a little too.

Can you see how ridiculous that sounds!!!

[longislandlol]

We need to promote the grandmother philosophy---so many deride it--and we see the negative results when this occurs---we cannot dump them into early nursing homes and forget about them--

[drsmc41]

Where do I need to sign? :)