Madeleine Albright’s Daughters Say She Never Forgot Her Roots as a Refugee

EXCERPT:

ANNE K. ALBRIGHT: “President Biden, President Obama, Mrs. Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, Speaker Pelosi, Leader McConnell, Mayor Bowser, Governor Hogan, Secretaries Blinken, Carrie Rice, leaders and friends from abroad, members of Congress and the diplomatic core, Bishop Buddy, all those who are here and all those watching from afar, we speak for our entire family in thanking you for joining in this ceremony of celebration and remembrance. Most of you knew Madeleine Albright as a colleague in government or business, a teacher, or a champion of democracy and human rights. To the world, these were the many hats she wore.

But to our family, she also wore others. That of devoted sister, aunt, Grandma Maddy. And for the three of us, the best mom ever. Of course, even great moms have quirks. When we were little, my sisters and I often awoke to the odd maternal cry of, ‘Up and atom, said the molecule.’ Usually, Mom had risen hours to work on her PhD dissertation, fix our breakfasts, and organize our backpacks. When we were at summer camp, she constantly sent us notes about whatever was on her mind. The state of the garden, plumbing issues, or whether we thought it would be okay for her to take a job on Capitol Hill.

Her handwriting was distinctive and indecipherable. Her Ms all looked like Ws. And so the signature on our library cards identified our mother as Wadeleine Albright. Now, some people, in the lingo of our Czech grandmother, like to play it by the ears. Not Mom. She loved schedules and knowing the order of her day. She had boundless energy and was always planning for what came next. She described herself as an optimist who worries a lot, and we can all attest to her worries. She was incredibly protective. But no matter how much she took on, no matter how much of the world was on her plate, we always knew that when we needed her, she would take our calls, say, ‘Here I am.’ And come quick.

Of course, we worried about her too. Especially after she became UN ambassador, and militants cursed and threw rocks at her in the Balkans. The resulting t-shirt, I got stoned with Madeleine Albright, made us smile. But the reality did not. And from then on, we insisted that she tell us in advance where she was going, who she'd be with, or otherwise, we declared, you'll be grounded.

As we got older, Mom never tried to steer us in one direction or another. She just urged us to forge ahead to be whatever we wanted to be. For my sisters, that meant at working globally and locally to help children and communities thrive. For me, that meant being a public defender and family lawyer. One night when I was with a client at the Montgomery County jail and had to call my mother to cancel our dinner date, she thought I was in jail and almost had a heart attack.

After I became a judge, she drove to Rockville to, quote, watch me in action. ‘Effective courts,’ she said, ‘were essential to a strong democracy.’ Mom's example meant much to me and my sisters. She said that if we or any other young women wanted to compete successfully with men, we had to make sure our ideas were heard.”