Michelle Obama’s mom birthday tribute on Instagram called her 80-year-old mother Marian Robinson her “rock.”
Obama shared a childhood photo of her and her mother, People magazine said. Robinson, whose birthday was Sunday, moved into the White House with the Obamas to help take care of their two young children, Essence magazine noted.
In a first-person story in posted on Essence's website in January, Robinson said her job at the White House was simply "to be grandma."
"One of my biggest blessings is getting to see my granddaughters grow up before my eyes," Robinson said. "I go to all their school plays and sports games; I'll answer their questions, and like any grandparent, I try to make myself scarce when their friends are around.”
"I'm also thankful to be able to be there for Michelle, as well. She'll ask about parenting, about how her dad and I made decisions when she and her older brother, Craig, were growing up. I just tell it to her straight: There's no textbook that tells you how to be a good parent. The truth is, most of the time you don't really know what to do. You just try to do your best."
Robinson, whose husband Fraser died in 1991, traveled with her granddaughters on trips around the world to places like Senegal, Tanzania, China, and Italy, where she met the Pope, The Telegraph said.
Many shared birthday wishes to Robinson on Twitter.
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