The diplomat's wife - meeting the President

After serving as a diplomat in Lithuania my husband was assigned to work in the American Embassy in Dublin, Ireland.

We came to Seattle for the home leave, had our son, I became a citizen and when our son was 6 weeks old we left this city. We went to Washington, DC where we spent a few days. I had a chance to visit the State Department and meet a few people who worked there.

We arrived to Ireland in the middle of August. I will write more about living there, but today I wanted to tell a story that was probably a highlight of the 3 years we spent in Dublin.

When our son was 2 President Clinton and his wife Hillary came to visit Ireland and the Embassy. The meeting with Embassy employees took place in the Ambassador’s residence – a beautiful estate in Phoenix Park surrounded by 62 acres of ground.

Before I tell about the meeting, let me tell you something about my boy. He was very shy and was afraid of strangers until he was 3 (and in some cases after that age we had issues, as well).

The meeting took place in the big tent on the grounds of the Ambassador’s residence. Once the Ambassador, Jean Kennedy Smith who is the youngest sister of President John F. Kennedy, and the Clintons entered the tent there was an ovation.

Once it was quiet, the Ambassador was just about to start her short speech when my son all of the sudden pulled his hand out of mine, ran in front of the President (we were standing just 5 or so feet away right in front of him) said “Yeah!” and started clapping! Of course the Secret Service guys were not too concerned (although they were watching) and everybody laughed.

I managed to get my son back to me and the Ambassador started her speech. Meanwhile President Clinton mouthed “What a beautiful child”, and my heart melted. :-)

People who knew our family could not believe that my son would do such a thing: the kid who was afraid of everybody and always very quiet. It was too cute.

After his speech the President and his wife went around shaking hands and my son was being his usual self: hiding in my arms with his eyes closed. The president still tried to hug him and said a few compliments. His wife laughed when she approached us and complimented our little boy as well.

Meeting President Clinton was an incredible experience. The little act of my 2-year-old made it even more special. Here are a few pictures with comments. Sorry about the poor quality, but it seemed easier to take a picture of a picture – we didn’t have digital camera those days – than to scan it.There are 10 pictures of the Residence in the link above.

My 2-year-old. Long time ago. :-)

With Irish and American flags before meeting President Clinton.

The First Lady, President Clinton, Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith

Yes, these are President's hands giving my son a hug. The Ambassador took this picture. Wish she turned the camera to the right just a little bit. :-)

Information and photos posted by Ally Wangsness, copyright © 2010. Photos and info may not be copied, reproduced and republished without the written permission of Ally Wangsness, Broker, RE/MAX Metro Realty, Inc.