The Obama family has spent their time together in quarantine socially distanced at the spades table.
READ MORE: Michelle Obama on menopause: ‘It was like somebody put a furnace in my core’
Former first lady Michelle Obama shares how former President Barack Obama has taken the time to teach their daughters how to play spades to pass the time. During episode two of The Michelle Obama podcast, she breaks down how the family of four spends their time at home.
The episode, titled Protests and the Pandemic, features award-winning journalist Michele Norris and was released last week. Together, the two women discuss how the coronavirus and national uprisings against racism and police brutality.
“We are all, every single one of us, no matter where you love, no matter your station, no matter your skin color, no matter your age, we are all writing our futures in pencil,” remarks Norris.
“Yeah. This is a moment,” Obama responds.
READ MORE: Michelle Obama releases playlist full of ‘#BlackGirlMagic,’ music inspired by podcast
One aspect of the pandemic life the women touched on is the new amount of time spent at home and with family. For Obama, this includes not only time with her husband but their daughters Malia and Sasha Obama.
“Schedule has been key and having a regular dinner time. And, I’m finding that in quarantine, we look forward to that, because, we in our house, what we all do is go off into our little workspaces. Barack’s in his office, making calls and working on his book,” she shares.
“I’m in my room, the girls are on their computers, and sometimes we’re outside if the weather permits. We’ve developed this routine of, we don’t really worry about seeing one another in the day.”
The former FLOTUS adds that the family gathers together in the afternoon.
“But right around five o’clock, everybody comes out of their nooks and we do an activity. Puzzles have become big, just sitting and doing these thousand-piece puzzles. The girls are into them. We’re all sitting on the floor around a table where the puzzle is now permanently set up,” she says.
“Then we sit down for dinner and talk some more. Afterward, the girls and Barack and another friend there, they’ve got a spades tournament. Barack has taught the girls spades, so now there’s this vicious competition.”
She continues to describe how the girls would not have sat and learned spades from their father without the restrictions of quarantine.
Since debuting on July 29, the eponymous podcast has introduced a range of topics from menopause and depression to music and television from Obama’s experience and point-of-view.
theGrio reports the audio show aims to provide candid and personal conversations, welcoming vulnerability.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!