WASHINGTON — After the crowds of millions left Capitol Hill on Tuesday, and the inaugural balls wound down, two young girls retired to their new home at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
They will be ushered to bedrooms filled with familiar toys and furniture from their home in Chicago, but there will be many changes for 10-year-old Malia, security codename Radiance, and 7-year-old Natasha Obama, who prefers to be called Sasha, codename Rosebud.
Just in time for move-in day, the Bush twins offered their best advice Tuesday to Sasha and Malia on living in a “magical place” called the White House.
In an open letter, Barbara and Jenna Bush, 27, advised the girls to relish it all — to “go to anything and everything you possibly can.”
“Just go,” they wrote in a letter published in the Wall Street Journal. “Four years goes by so fast, so absorb it all, enjoy it all!”
The twins reminisced about their favorite memories of the White House, and gave plenty of specific advice:
Surround yourselves with loyal friends.
Trick-or-treat down the plane aisle if you’re traveling on Halloween.
Cherish your pets “because sometimes you’ll need the quiet comfort that only animals can provide.”
“Slide down the banister of the solarium, go to T-ball games, have swimming parties, and play Sardines on the White House lawn. Have fun and enjoy your childhood in such a magical place to live and play.”
The twins turned serious at the end, recalling how their father’s image was distorted over the years.
“He is our father, not the sketch in the paper or part of a skit on TV,” they wrote.
As for the Obama girls’ dad, they added, “Many people will think they know him, but they have no idea how he felt the day you were born, the pride he felt on your first day of school, or how much you both love being his daughters. So here is our most important piece of advice: Remember who your dad really is.”
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