Saving school food a letter to my imaginary bff michelle obama

Can I address you as “Michelle”? I know it’s a bit rude, what with you being the First Lady and all, but for the last six years, you and I have had a beautiful friendship that is no less special for being one-sided.

We have so much in common, Michelle, that it’s no surprise that we’re best friends forever. We’re both lawyers who changed careers in our 40s, though you wear designer clothes to your current job and I often work in my pyjamas. We also both have lawyer husbands, though yours is also the leader of the free world, and we both have teenagers at home, which isn’t easy, right?

I love that you were brave enough to wear blue nail polish to the Democratic National Convention and a J. Crew sweater to 10 Downing Street. I love that you tried bangs and were willing to admit that you didn’t like them (who hasn’t been there?). I love that after six years in the White House, you still seem like a real person who isn’t afraid to do the Mom Dance or Double Dutch when the mood strikes. And who cares if putting your arm around the Queen was against the rules? You’re not a British subject, and that woman looks like she could really use a hug.

But what I love most about you is that you’ve made kids and healthy eating a big part of your job as First Lady. This is one of the things I care most about.

People have said that Let’s Move! hasn’t done enough and that you’ve been scared off by the food industry, but I’m still grateful for everything you’ve been able to do, whether it’s getting Disney to ban junk food ads or getting the Sesame Street Workshop and the Produce Marketing Association to work out a licencing deal. I know that the East Wing can only do so much in this area, so I called you a “smart realist” who “pushes for reforms only when there are clear openings and likely payoffs.” In other words, I’ve got your back, like any good friend would.

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