Convalescing in the White House

Betty Ford: icon of recovery, truth-telling, and tailored floor-length bathrobes.

First Lady Betty Ford eating in bed with a tray table, the President seated next to her with his own dining tray, listening attentively.

She inspired so many people; today she inspires me.

Not exactly in the way that may have made an impression on me as a very small child during her breast cancer treatment and recovery, or her private-made-public (by choice) fight with alcoholism and addiction.

Today what inspires me are fantastic images like these: her in elaborate bedclothes and bathrobes with her husband — football hero and President — fully dressed in suit and tie.

Eating in bed.

And the curiosity of how his embrace might have felt through those thick layers of fabric.