President Obama: I Miss My Green Hour

OK, so maybe that’s not exactly what he said. But here’s how Barack Obama answered when asked what he misses most about his life before the presidency:

Taking walks. There is a value to anonymity in terms of just being able to wander around, sit on a park bench, take your kids to get ice cream without having Secret Service and helicopters over you. That part of this life I’ll never get used to.

President Obama had made the same comment in a 60 Minutes interview just weeks after his election.

Why’s it so important for parents & their kids to spend time outdoors? For President Obama, it’s as simple as having some time to think. And for Malia & Sasha, it’s simply some time to play. But there are also very real health benefits to getting outside.

So maybe today after work (if it’s as hot where you live as it is in DC, wait until dusk), ask the kids to take a walk to the park. You can even do your best President Obama impression while you do it. “My fellow Americans — now, with respect to the park …”

By the way, the caption of that official White House photo by Pete Souza reads “President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have a chance encounter with other hikers while walking along a trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway outside of Asheville, N.C., April 23, 2010.” Can you imagine being out for a hike & bumping into the first family?