Keisha Whitaker Braved Frigid Weather For a ‘Life Changing Celebration’
The inauguration of the 44th President had celebrities flying into Washington from all over the globe. While some opted to leave their little ones at home due to the frigid temperatures, actress Keisha Whitaker refused to let the cold air keep her family from witnessing the historic event. A guest blogger for Mom Logic, Keisha writes that the first stop for the family was the inauguration concert. Although her group rocked out to their favorite singers, for the actress, the “life changing celebration” was much more than a great performance. Watching her children enjoy themselves, Keisha’s fondest memory of that evening came when her husband, actor Forest Whitaker, took the stage.“As a mother, I felt so happy to hold my girls’ hands and rock with them. I’m choked up just writing this…For them to see their father onstage participating in such a celebration honoring the first African American First Family. We were soo proud.”
After a group meeting with President Barack Obama and his family — where Keisha admits to snapping “photos like a mammarazzi” — the family geared up for the inauguration ceremony. Prepared to look their best for the big day, Keisha, in retrospect, can’t help but “half-regret” the decision to dress-up for the occasion — a lesson the Whitakers quickly learned when they were left to walk more than a mile to their seats. Prepared for the bitter temperatures, Keisha bundled up her brood with “trenchcoats, handwarmers, footwarmers, hats, gloves, scarves, and Thermacares (Yes, I wrapped their bodies in heated pads used for back pain). It was that cold!!” Once the family arrived, however, their focus was on nothing more but ”the energy…amazing and buzzing all around us.”
“When the swearing in ceremony began, I felt warm despite the weather. We have a ritual we do as a family when we are having an experience — whether it’s a delicious meal, a walk on the beach — we take a moment and breathe in and say, ‘We were all here together.’ At this moment we were there all together watching the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama. We all took a deep breath in and let the moment sink into our bodies, soul and spirit.”
Together the couple have daughters Sonnet Noel, 12, and True Isabella Summer, 10, while Keisha has daughter Autumn, 18, and Forest has son Ocean, 19, from previous relationships.