When Sasha Obama woke her parents one Sunday during her father’s first term to say it was raining in the dining room, the former president and first lady initially dismissed her remarks, thinking their young daughter was simply trying to get them out of bed. But life in the iconic centuries-old structure can make for some interesting situations.
As Michelle Obama recounts in an AD-exclusive clip from the latest episode of Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast, Sasha’s observation was less the invention of a then-little kid and more of a cry for help from the famous estate, which was in desperate need of some repairs.
“Barack and I are like, ‘What?’ [Sasha] said, ‘It’s raining in the dining room,’” Michelle told interviewer Elizabeth Alexander. “We said, ‘Ok go to bed, get out of here, get out of here.’ ‘Cause we thought, she’s just trying to get us up. And then it got quiet, and I heard rain. So I get up, put on my robe, cross the hall and it is raining, literally: a pipe that was so old had burst and it was pouring down rain.”
Staff acted fast to ensure that priceless art adorning the walls was safe from the damage, but the ceiling was destroyed in the downpour. The anecdote came in response to a question regarding the reality of day-to-day living in the White House. Michelle acknowledged the many perks, including the butlers and florists that made it “definitely fancy, by all standards.” But she didn’t want listeners to think it was all rainbows and sunshine.
The former first lady called attention to the fact that something as innocuous as renovations to the historical house could easily become political football, one reason previous residents of the storied abode may have forgone needed repair work.