Yesterday was the first day of spring. Eleanor Roosevelt believed that spending time outdoors, enjoying the beauty of nature during the spring season, was one of the most important experiences of childhood. She wrote in March 1936:
“No city child should grow up without knowing the beauty of spring in the country or where milk comes from, how vegetables grow and what it is like to play in a field instead of on a city street.”
On March 21, 1960, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her “My Day” column:
“The health of the future city dwellers and the health of our whole country depends on providing young people with an environment in which they can grow instead of deteriorating.”
On March 19, 1936, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her “My Day” column:
“Real prosperity can only come out when everybody prospers.”
On March 14, 1941, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her “My Day” column:
“I do not suppose that any really good work is ever lost. Somewhere the seed remains and the influence is felt in the future.”
On March 6, 1937, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her “My Day” column:
“[A]s a rule women know not only what men know, but much that men will never know. For, how many men really know the heart and soul of a woman?”
On March 3, 1937, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote to her daughter Anna about a disagreement she had with FDR about something Eleanor wrote in her “My Day” column:
“Pa [FDR] is both nervous & tired. . . . I thought stupidly his little outburst of boredom on meals was amusing & human & used it in my column. . . . James [FDR’s servant] came & reproved me & said I must distinguish between things which were personal and should not be said or none of them would dare to talk to me & he thought I should apologize to Father. . . . I am grieved at my poor judgment & only hope it won’t be remembered long. Will I be glad when we leave the W.H. [White House] & I can be on my own!”
Because today is Leap Day, essentially an extra twenty-four hours of time that we only get to enjoy every four years, today we look at what Eleanor Roosevelt had to say about spending your time wisely. In1960, in her book You Learn by Living, she wrote:
“One of the secrets of using your time well is to gain a certain ability to maintain peace within yourself so that much can go on around you and you can stay calm inside.”
On February 27, 1961, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her “My Day” column:
“Above everything, we must insist that we learn to live together in the future and that the primary aim of a nation is no longer to learn to die for one’s country. It is more difficult, but far more necessary, to learn to live for one’s country.”
On February 22, 1951, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her “My Day” column:
“We cannot afford to waste brains in this country. They are becoming more important to us everyday. And surely financial position should not bar young people from the education which can give them positions of leadership in our nation in the future.”
This year, on Monday, February 18, we celebrate President’s Day. This day is set aside to honor all the men (and perhaps, someday, a few women) who have served as president of the United States. Having been married to a president, Eleanor Roosevelt knew how difficult the job could be, and she did her best to help not only her husband, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but subsequent presidents. She wrote to President Harry Truman in March 1946:
“Any President frequently suffers from his friends as much as from his enemies, and it is the sense of loyalty and gratitude which often gets men in public life into the greatest of trouble.”
Eleanor Roosevelt’s wise words, good advice, and tireless public service helped several U.S. presidents. It’s regrettable that Eleanor herself never became president. She would surely have made an excellent leader and would have been a great role model for future female presidents.