A
merican
R
hetoric.com
Transcription by Michael E. Eidenmuller. Property of
A
merican
R
hetoric.com
Updated 12/10/21
Page 3
One of the reasons I made the most important decision of my life, to marry George Bush, is
because he made me laugh. It's true, sometimes we've laughed through our tears, but that
shared laughter has been one of our strongest bonds. Find the joy in life, because as Ferris
Bueller said on his day off, "Life moves pretty fast; and you don't stop and look around once
in a while, you're going to miss it."
(I'm not going to tell George you clapped more for Ferris than you clapped for George.)
The third choice that must not be missed is to cherish your human connections: your
relationships with family and friends. For several years, you've had impressed upon you the
importance to your career of dedication and hard work. And, of course, that's true. But as
important as your obligations as a doctor, a lawyer, a business leader will be, you are a
human being first. And those human connections --- with spouses, with children, with friends
-- are the most important investments you will ever make.
At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, winning one
more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a
child, a friend, or a parent.
We are in a transitional period right now -- We are in a transitional period right now,
fascinating and exhilarating times, learning to adjust to changes and the choices we, men and
women, are facing. As an example, I remember what a friend said, on hearing her husband
complain to his buddies that he had to babysit. Quickly setting him straight, my friend told her
husband that when it's your own kids, it's
not
called babysitting.
Now maybe we should adjust faster; maybe we should adjust slower. But whatever the era
twenty -- whatever the era, whatever the times, one thing will never change: fathers and
mothers, if you have children, they must come first. You must read to your children, and you
must hug your children, and you must love your children. Your success as a family, our
success as a society, depends not on what happens in the White House, but on what happens
inside your house.
For over fifty years, it was said that the winner of Wellesley's annual hoop race would be the
first to get married. Now they say, the winner will be the first to become a C.E.O. Both -- Both
of those stereotypes show too little tolerance for those who want to know where the mermaids
stand. So -- So I want to offer a new legend: the winner of the hoop race will be the first to
realize her dream -- not society's dreams -- her own personal dream.
