Happy Birthday, Michelle Obama

IT’S FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA’S 50th BIRTHDAY! Have you done your push-ups in preparation? Are you bangs freshly bumped? Did you break out that Beyonce “Let’s Move” remix of “Get Me Bodied” because I did.

As far as First Ladies go, I’ve lived through Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush. They were cool, and I’ll always enjoy Mrs. Clinton for her timeless cookie quote, but when I learned of Mrs. Obama, I said “Oh my God, Clair Huxtable is real.” The FLOTUS turns 50 years old today and will celebrate in grand style this weekend.

On Saturday night, Mrs. Obama will celebrate her 50th birthday with dancing and sweets throughout the state floor of the White House, drawing the nation’s attention away from her husband, at least for an evening. Guests will sip fine American wines, consume delicate macarons and be entertained — the expectation is by Beyoncé.

In 2008, as Mrs. Obama stumped her way across America for then-presidential hopeful Barack Obama, she earned support for her man but everyone was really falling in love with her.

Touting a legal degree and high-powered career through which she brought home more bacon than her husband, the couple’s very courtship tale has “feminism won” written all over it. Picture it, © Sophia from The Golden Girls, a busy single woman gets assigned a wet-behind-the-(big)-ears newcomer at her law firm. He’s smart and a bit annoying, with all that broad smiling, but the kid is kinda of cute. One day, the kid asks her out on a date between legal briefs. She’s hesitant, because fraternizing with a mentee outside of the office? She’s not sure if that’s cool, but says ‘Ok, kid.’ Turns out the kid’s awesome, and becomes President of the United States. The end.

I don’t know about you, but during the last five years Mrs. Obama has only snuggled her way deeper into my heart. From her dancing with Jimmy Fallon to her fierce side-eye aimed at guys like Speaker John Boehner, I really do get a kick out of South-side Chicago’s Mobama. My favorite joke about the Obama’s as a couple still comes from embattled comedian Katt Williams, when he said something like, when people see Barack they have no idea where he came from, but Michelle looks like she smells of Motions hair conditioner and cocoa butter.

But FLOTUS means business and she doesn’t take any guff. Witness the 2013 kerfuffle when a gay-rights protestor bought a ticket to a fundraiser dinner just to heckle Mrs. Obama during her speech. FLOTUS was not having it. Instead of enduring, she said “One of the things I don’t too well is this … Listen to me or you can take the mic, but I’m leaving.” Then she told the crowd, “You all decide. You have one choice.” Naturally, the crowd, who’d paid to see the FLOTUS, choose the FLOTUS and the protestor was escorted out. We do not suffer fools gladly around here, you see.

In addition, Mrs. Obama’s example of intelligence, accomplishment and commitment to community — long before her husband because the President of the United States — shows little girls that they too can be awesome. Happy birthday, MO!