On My Way To The White House

Waiting for my train to D.C.

I’ve gotten a lot of cool invitations over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever gotten one as exciting as the invitation I received eight days ago. It’s the only invitation to date that actually caused my mouth to hang open. Literally. Open. Hanging.

I was in the bathroom. I was half asleep. I was reading email. (Isn’t that how everyone starts their Sunday morning?) The first time I read it through I got about halfway without understanding what I was reading. It was a press release, right? I get press releases all the time about things the Obama administration is doing. This was about the First Lady and her Let’s Move campaign. But why did I have to RSVP to a press release?

I started over at the top. It wasn’t a press release. It was an actual invitation. To the White House. To hear Michelle Obama and some other administration officials speak about Let’s Move.

The White House. You know, the place from my favorite show, West Wing.

By that point, as I was waking up a little and understanding more, my mouth was hanging open.

I haven’t been inside the White House since I took a tour in 8th grade. I think Reagan was president. I don’t remember much. What I remember most from that trip was our teachers letting us loose around the Union Station area for lunch and telling us to be back in an hour. No chaperones, just stay with a friend.

So now I’m being let loose on D.C. again, but this time I’ll have a White House pass and lots of friends with me. A bunch of other bloggers and social media influencers that I know are going to be there.

Every part of this has been excited. Filling out my personal info on the White House website in order to get security clearance was exciting (and nerve-wracking: I must have re-checked the spelling of my name about ten times). Getting instruction on which gate to enter was exciting. And I will say with NO SHAME whatsoever that I totally hope there are tourists near the gate, and as they watch me walk up and get waved in, I hope they wonder who I am. I will try to act nonchalant, but I don’t really do nonchalant well. I will probably be grinning from ear to ear and taking pictures.

That’s another exciting thing about this event: We’ve all been encouraged to take lots of pictures and videos and to share. No checking our phones at the door, no embargoes, no blackouts. You can follow along on Twitter with the hashtag #LetsMove.

The First Lady’s remarks will be streamed live, and afterwards if the weather is cooperating we’ll be getting a tour of the White House Kitchen Garden (which is awesome for a non-obvious reason: We might be walking on grass, which I’m taking as my excuse to wear flats tomorrow). Last year was the first year in a while that I didn’t grow any food in my backyard, and I know that this is going to inspire me to get my veggies going again this year.

So, here I am, on a train to D.C. I even packed my workout clothes and sneakers. Usually I use trips of any kind as an excuse not to exercise. (Other usual excuses: I’m tired, I’m hungry, it’s not 68 degrees, and sunny, I don’t want to.) But really, I feel like before hearing the First Lady speak about her campaign to get kids moving, I should exercise. I was a complete slug all winter, but since the weather warmed up I’ve been exercising almost every day, and I’m not going to let an early appointment at the White House get in my way!

Thanks very much to Café Mom and The Stir for inviting me! See you tomorrow AT THE WHITE HOUSE!!!