From left: President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden walk on the Ellipse on May 23 in Washington, D.C.Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty
Now nearly a year into her husband’s term, First Lady Dr.Jill Bidenis opening about about how she and PresidentJoe Bidenhave been turning the White House into a home.
Dr. Biden, 70, spoke about the history and memories of their 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. residenceat a gala held last Thursdayin honor of the White House Historical Association, CNN reports.
Like the long list presidents and first ladies that came before them, the Bidens are navigating how to make memories of their own in a place that doubles as a museum.
“It’s surreal, but it’s comfortable,” President Biden, 78, told PEOPLE in January, days after moving in. “[I] spent a lot of time here in the Cabinet room and in the Oval with the president [Barack Obama], but upstairs is new. It didn’t seem like that much was changing, including the Inauguration, until we walked through the door with our grandkids. It was like oh, I guess things have changed!”
According to CNN, Dr. Biden told the crowd at the gala on Thursday that the family celebrated their granddaughters' college graduation in the Blue Room. A celebration in honor of daughter Ashley’s 40th birthday in June, meanwhile, was held in the Rose Garden.
The first lady — aprofessor of English at Northern Virginia Community College— said she even grades her student’s essays beneath “the burgundy oaks and maples blazing over the grounds” ofJacqueline Kennedy’s garden.
President Joe and Dr. Jill Biden.Paul Morigi/Getty Images
Soon, Dr. Biden said, the first couple will place a swing set on the White House grounds for their 2-year-old grandson,Beau.
“We’re beginning to feel at home, like so many families before us,” she said.
Dr. Biden’s recent remarks come days after she reflected on the first ladies that came before her at the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy’s National Summit on Adult Literacy held in October.
Noting that had previously spent time at the White House when her husband, served as vice president, Dr. Biden said that, still, “There’s nothing that can prepare you to be first lady.”
source: people.com
