Michelle Obama's mother on life in the White House: "I was worried about my grandkids"
When Barack Obama made history as the nation's first African-American president, his mother-in-law admits she was worried about their safety.
"I felt like this was going to be a very hard life for both of them," said Marian Shields Robinson, who moved with the first family to Washington when Mr. Obama took office.
She and her daughter Michelle Obama sat down with "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King to discuss life in the White House. The former first lady is out with her highly anticipated memoir, "Becoming," which follows her life from childhood in the South Side of Chicago to Washington.
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"[I] was worried about their safety," Shields Robinson said. "I was worried about my grandkids."
That worry inspired her to move to Washington, D.C., where Obama said her mother became a beloved figure in the White House. But that doesn't mean the move was easy at first.
"It was a huge adjustment. As a matter of fact, I had talked [the White House staff] into allowing me to do my own laundry," Shields Robinson said.
"She taught the girls how to do their laundry. They would go upstairs for laundry lessons," Obama said. "They learned how to use the machine."
Watch their wide-ranging interview Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, on "CBS This Morning," which airs 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET/PT.