But to our surprise, moving to the White House was really the first time since the girls were born that we've been able to gather as a family almost every night. Michelle and I can go to parent-teacher conferences together. I've been able to make Malia's tennis matches and Sasha's dance recitals. Sasha let me help coach her basketball team -- the Vipers. They won the title. I've even experienced what all dads dread: watching my daughter go to her first prom. In high heels.
出乎我們意料的是，搬進白宮使得我們終于能夠每天晚上都能全家相聚，自打兩個女兒出生后，這還是第一次。我和米歇爾可以一起出席家長會。我也能夠出席觀看瑪利亞的網球比賽和薩沙的舞蹈演出。薩沙讓我擔任她所在籃球隊——毒蛇隊的助理教練，她們在之后的比賽中奪得了冠軍。我甚至還經歷了所有父親都害怕的事，那就是看著女兒穿著高跟鞋出席了她人生的第一場舞會。

So it's not always easy being a father of teenage girls. But it is pretty good to live above the store.
所以說做十幾歲女孩的父親可不是一件容易的事情。但是每天和她們生活在一起是一件令人高興的事。

Even with our jam-packed days, Michelle and I work hard to carve out certain blocks of family time that are sacrosanct. For example, at 6:30 p.m., no matter how busy I am, I leave work to go upstairs and have dinner with my family. That's inviolable. My staff knows that it pretty much takes a national emergency to keep me away from that dinner table. As a night owl, I'd rather stay up late reading briefings and working on speeches after everybody has gone to bed anyway.
即使在我們非常忙碌的日子里，我和米歇爾也會騰出“神圣不可侵犯”的家庭時間。比如說，不管多忙，傍晚6時30分我都會準時上樓與家人共進晚餐，這段時間是“不可侵犯的”。我的職員們都知道，幾乎只有全國緊急事件才能讓我離開晚餐餐桌。作為一個夜貓子，我寧愿在其他人都上床后熬夜看簡報、準備演講。

So for an hour or so at dinner, my focus is not on my day, but on theirs. I ask Sasha and Malia the usual annoying parental questions: How was school? What are your friends up to? Have you done your homework? What are you thinking about? In return, they spend a lot of time teasing me about my big ears or stodgy suits -- and Michelle is always happy to join them.
所以晚餐時間一個小時左右，我把注意力從我的工作轉移到她們身上。我會問薩沙和瑪利亞一些問題，無非是家長常“嘮叨”的問題：“今天在學校過得如何？”“和朋友們相處得怎樣？”“作業完成了嗎？”“在想什么呢？”而薩沙和瑪利亞大部分時間都在調侃我的大耳朵或者古板的西裝——米歇爾也經常會加入，她們其樂融融。

The highlight of my day is just listening to their thoughts about the world and seeing what smart, funny, kind young women they've become. That hour recharges me and gives me perspective. And those moments where I can just be Dad -- even if it's "Daaaaaaad" -- well, there's nothing better.
我一天中最重要的事情就是聆聽她們對世界的看法，看著她們慢慢變得聰明、有趣、善良。那一小時讓我重新充滿能量，對未來充滿希望。那個時候我僅僅扮演一個父親的角色，或者說“老爸”，沒什么比這更美好的了。

Michelle does her best to preserve that time, and it has made a huge difference. Like I said, she's our rock. Whatever comes up, I know that they'll be there for me. And I will always be there for them. These days, the girls occasionally miss a night because they're so busy with school and activities. And like many parents of high school juniors who are excitedly touring college campuses, I'm already dreading that empty seat at the table when Malia goes off to school next fall. I can feel myself lingering at the table a little longer, trying to stave off the passage of time. But for as long as possible, I'm going to enjoy every minute of finally having us all together under one roof.
米歇爾每天都會為此盡力騰出時間，這使我們的家庭生活發生了巨大的改變。就像我所說的，她是我們家庭的基石。不管發生什么，我知道她們都會支持我，而我，也會永遠陪在她們身邊。最近，孩子們偶爾一個晚上會缺席，因為她們忙于學習和學校的活動。中學生們興奮地參觀大學校園，像很多中學生的父母一樣，我已經開始害怕瑪麗亞明年秋季上大學后餐桌邊的那張空椅子，我能感受到我在餐桌邊多停留了一會兒，想讓時間慢點走。但是我將盡可能長地享受我們在同一個屋檐下共處的最后時光，享受每一分鐘。

First Lady Nancy Reagan once wrote, "Nothing can prepare you for living in the White House." She was right, of course. Nothing can prepare you. But your family can sustain you.
第一夫人南希·里根曾寫道：“在白宮里生活，你無法預計會發生什么。”她說的對，無法預計會發生什么，但是你的家庭會一直支持你。

Vocabulary
brief: (法律)案情摘要
recital: (常指舞蹈學員表演的)舞蹈演出會
prom: (為中學生舉辦的)畢業舞會
jam-packed: 擁擠的，塞滿的
carve out: 憑自身努力獲得
sacrosanct: 神圣不可侵犯的
inviolable: 不可違反的，不可侵犯的
pretty much: 幾乎，差不多
stodgy: (衣服等)不時髦的，式樣難看的
stave off: 延緩

（英文來源：赫芬頓郵報 譯者：向亞芳GXUN 編輯：許晶晶）