The Bush Sisters Wrote the Obama Girls a Touching Letter

Get your Kleenex box back out, because the emotional Obama goodbyes aren’t over just yet. George W. Bush’s twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, penned an open letter to Malia and Sasha Obama, and it’s every bit as sweet as you’d expect.

In the letter, which was first published by Time, the Bush sisters looked back on the day eight years ago when they welcomed the Obama sisters into the White House. “The four of us wandered the majestic halls of the house you had no choice but to move in to,” they write. “When you slid down the banister of the solarium, just as we had done as 8-year-olds and again as 20-year-olds chasing our youth, your joy and laughter were contagious.”

The note celebrates the impressive poise Malia and Sasha have demonstrated as First Children, applauding the girls for navigating a childhood in the public eye with grace and ease. “Now, you are about to join another rarified club, one of former First Children—a position you didn’t seek and one with no guidelines. But you have so much to look forward to. You will be writing the story of your lives, beyond the shadow of your famous parents, yet you will always carry with you the experiences of the past eight years.”

The Bush sisters advise the Obama girls to cherish the White House staff—“the florists, the grounds-keepers and the butlers”—who played a central role in their growing up. “Take all that you have seen,” they write, “the people you have met, the lessons you have learned, and let that help guide you in making positive change. We have no doubt you will.”

I don’t think anyone doubts that the Obama girls will go on to do amazing things with their lives. The Bush sisters are rooting for you, Sasha and Malia, and so are we.