Laura Bush: Post-White House Life No Bowl of Cherries

Some occupants of the White House are probably more than happy to leave after an eight-year stay. But adjusting to life after 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. isn’t as easy as it may seem, says former first lady Laura Bush, Politico reports.

She discussed the transition at a women's conference Tuesday in Long Beach, Calif.

"When you live in the White House and are a bobble head inside a bubble, reality can get a little warped," she said, according to CNN. "Sometimes you have to work hard just to recognize yourself."

So what’s it like now for her and former President George W. Bush? "I'd like to report now that we left the White House and moved into our home in Dallas. Our lives are back to normal. But I think I may have forgotten what normal is," she says.

"When you're married to the president of the United States, you don't worry too much about him leaving his wet towels on the floor. But in Dallas, things are different. Memo to the ex-president, turmoil in East Timor is no longer an excuse not to pick up your sock."