The President Will See You Now by Peggy Grande

Author:Peggy Grande
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography / Presidents & Heads Of State, Biography & Autobiography / Political, Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs
Publisher: Hachette Books
Published: 2017-02-21T05:00:00+00:00

15

Visiting the Residence

The Reagans loved children, and Mrs. Reagan especially always seemed a little disappointed if I showed up at the residence without mine. Visiting with the kids was such a production, however, that I didn’t always have time to take them. Inevitably, if I showed up alone, as I was leaving she would say, “Peggy, it’s always nice to see you, but… I haven’t seen the children in a while…”

Her not-so-subtle hint was well taken!

President and Mrs. Reagan were an important part not only of my life but that of my family as well. They had warmly welcomed my first child, my son, Taylor, in 1993. My second, my daughter Courtney, arrived in 1996. My third, my daughter Paige, entered our world in 1999. And when I told Mrs. Reagan I was expecting my fourth child, she looked at me and said, “You know how this is happening, right?!” Embarrassed, I promised her, “Four and no more!” Nonetheless she and the president joyfully greeted my fourth child, my daughter Jocelyn, in 2001. Taking young kids into a beautiful home filled with priceless items was a nerve-racking endeavor that required a full day of preparation. Getting four little ones dressed up was an adventure in and of itself, including ruffled socks, hair bows, pressed shirts and dresses, and of course packing up an appropriate stash of bribes for the diaper bag, like special snacks, candy, or juice boxes.

Before each visit to the Reagan home, we made two stops. First, we stopped to buy an orchid for Mrs. Reagan (she loved them), a tradition that started the day my son, Taylor, was old enough to stand on his own and give it to her. Our second stop was at Holmby Park, about a mile away from the Reagans’ house, so the kids could use the public restrooms. I’m serious. I didn’t want them to have to go during the visit. I’d end up wasting our visiting time there shuttling kids back and forth to the powder room, leaving the others unsupervised. With so many priceless objects tempting their busy little hands, I just couldn’t risk it.

I would then assess the state of their clothes and fix their hair as we loaded back into the car at the park and buckled back into car seats. As we climbed the hill to the residence the kids would get “the speech.” If Ronald Reagan had his famous speech from 1964, this was mine—and I gave it on a regular basis. “You are very fortunate to visit these special people. Most people never get a single chance to meet them, and you are blessed to not only visit with them but to be guests in their home, and to get to do so often. Please use your best manners, be polite, answer questions, and enjoy the conversation, but don’t offer up too much information or talk too much, and please don’t do anything embarrassing. And do not touch anything!”

They got this talk every time we visited, and they can still recite it by heart.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.