奧巴馬 總統一職讓我成爲更好的父親

People often ask me whether being President has made it more difficult to spend time with Michelle and our girls. But the surprising truth is that being in the White House has made our family life more "normal" than it's ever been。

人們常常問我，當總統是否讓我和米歇爾及我們女兒相聚成爲了一件更難的事情。但現實卻令人驚訝，住進白宮讓我們的家庭生活變得比以往任何時候都更加“正常”。

When Malia was born, Michelle and I were fortunate enough to spend a blissful three months mostly at home with our baby girl. But then Michelle went back to work part time, and I returned to my schedule of teaching at the University of Chicago law school and serving in the state legislature. This meant that I would often be away in Springfield for three days at a time. Even when I was home in Chicago, I had papers to grade and briefs to write and evening meetings to attend。

瑪利亞出生的時候，我和米歇爾非常幸運，足足三個月的時間，我們與寶貝女兒一起待在家裏，體驗初爲父母的喜悅之情。之後米歇爾回到她的兼職工作崗位上去，而我在芝加哥大學法學院的教學工作和我在州議會的工作也同時回到正軌。這就意味我得經常去斯普林菲爾德，並且每次都要待上三天。即便我回到芝加哥的家裏，我也得繼續工作：改試卷、寫案情提要，有時晚上還要開會。

Things didn't get any easier when I was elected to the Senate and had to commute back and forth to Washington every week. Then our lives were thrown completely out of balance during a presidential campaign that kept me on the road almost constantly -- leaving Michelle to carry an even heavier load for longer stretches of time。

我當選爲參議員後，工作變得更加複雜，我每週必須往返於芝加哥與華盛頓之間。總統大選之際，我幾乎時時刻刻都在路上，這使得米歇爾不得不長期承受更重的負擔，那時我們的生活完全失去了平衡。

That's why I call her the rock of our family -- because she is. She always has been。

這就是爲什麼我稱她爲我們家庭的基石——因爲她確實是的，並且一直都是。

But to our surprise, moving to the White House was really the first time since the girls were born that we've been able to gather as a family almost every night. Michelle and I can go to parent-teacher conferences together. I've been able to make Malia's tennis matches and Sasha's dance recitals. Sasha let me help coach her basketball team -- the Vipers. They won the title. I've even experienced what all dads dread: watching my daughter go to her first prom. In high heels。

出乎我們意料的是，搬進白宮使得我們終於能夠每天晚上都能全家相聚，自打兩個女兒出生後，這還是第一次。我和米歇爾可以一起出席家長[微博]會。我也能夠出席觀看瑪利亞的網球比賽和薩沙的舞蹈演出。薩沙讓我擔任她所在籃球隊——毒蛇隊的助理教練，她們在之後的比賽中奪得了冠軍。我甚至還經歷了所有父親都害怕的事，那就是看着女兒穿着高跟鞋出席了她人生的第一場舞會。

So it's not always easy being a father of teenage girls. But it is pretty good to live above the store。

所以說做十幾歲女孩的父親可不是一件容易的事情。但是每天和她們生活在一起是一件令人高興的事。

Even with our jam-packed days, Michelle and I work hard to carve out certain blocks of family time that are sacrosanct. For example, at 6:30 p.m., no matter how busy I am, I leave work to go upstairs and have dinner with my family. That's inviolable. My staff knows that it pretty much takes a national emergency to keep me away from that dinner table. As a night owl, I'd rather stay up late reading briefings and working on speeches after everybody has gone to bed anyway。

即使在我們非常忙碌的日子裏，我和米歇爾也會騰出“神聖不可侵犯”的家庭時間。比如說，不管多忙，傍晚6時30分我都會準時上樓與家人共進晚餐，這段時間是“不可侵犯的”。我的職員們都知道，幾乎只有全國緊急事件才能讓我離開晚餐餐桌。作爲一個夜貓子，我寧願在其他人都上牀後熬夜看簡報、準備演講。

So for an hour or so at dinner, my focus is not on my day, but on theirs. I ask Sasha and Malia the usual annoying parental questions: How was school? What are your friends up to? Have you done your homework? What are you thinking about? In return, they spend a lot of time teasing me about my big ears or stodgy suits -- and Michelle is always happy to join them。

所以晚餐時間一個小時左右，我把注意力從我的工作轉移到她們身上。我會問薩沙和瑪利亞一些問題，無非是家長常“嘮叨”的問題：“今天在學校過得如何？”“和朋友們相處得怎樣？”“作業完成了嗎？”“在想什麼呢？”而薩沙和瑪利亞大部分時間都在調侃我的大耳朵或者古板的西裝——米歇爾也經常會加入，她們其樂融融。

The highlight of my day is just listening to their thoughts about the world and seeing what smart, funny, kind young women they've become. That hour recharges me and gives me perspective. And those moments where I can just be Dad -- even if it's "Daaaaaaad" -- well, there's nothing better。

我一天中最重要的事情就是聆聽她們對世界的看法，看着她們慢慢變得聰明、有趣、善良。那一小時讓我重新充滿能量，對未來充滿希望。那個時候我僅僅扮演一個父親的角色，或者說“老爸”，沒什麼比這更美好的了。

Michelle does her best to preserve that time, and it has made a huge difference. Like I said, she's our rock. Whatever comes up, I know that they'll be there for me. And I will always be there for them. These days, the girls occasionally miss a night because they're so busy with school and activities. And like many parents of high school juniors who are excitedly touring college campuses, I'm already dreading that empty seat at the table when Malia goes off to school next fall. I can feel myself lingering at the table a little longer, trying to stave off the passage of time. But for as long as possible, I'm going to enjoy every minute of finally having us all together under one roof。

米歇爾每天都會爲此盡力騰出時間，這使我們的家庭生活發生了巨大的改變。就像我所說的，她是我們家庭的基石。不管發生什麼，我知道她們都會支持我，而我，也會永遠陪在她們身邊。最近，孩子們偶爾一個晚上會缺席，因爲她們忙於學習和學校的活動。中學生們興奮地參觀大學校園，像很多中學生的父母一樣，我已經開始害怕瑪麗亞明年秋季上大學後餐桌邊的那張空椅子，我能感受到我在餐桌邊多停留了一會兒，想讓時間慢點走。但是我將盡可能長地享受我們在同一個屋檐下共處的最後時光，享受每一分鐘。

First Lady Nancy Reagan once wrote, "Nothing can prepare you for living in the White House." She was right, of course. Nothing can prepare you. But your family can sustain you。

第一夫人南希·里根曾寫道：“在白宮裏生活，你無法預計會發生什麼。”她說的對，無法預計會發生什麼，但是你的家庭會一直支持你。