WASHINGTON — Jessica Curry is still processing. The mom of two, whose daughter Parker became an online sensation after a photo of the toddler—awestruck by Michelle Obama’s portrait — went very, very viral, has spent the past two weeks juggling juice boxes and giant expectations.
“When I go into my phone and I look at pictures of Michelle Obama carrying my little girl around on her hip as if she were her own, I’m like, ‘What is going on?’” Curry, 29, said during a recent phone interview.
Since Parker’s photo began orbiting the social media globe on March 1, mother and daughter have spent 45 minutes with the former first lady in her downtown D.C. office, appeared on CNN and flew to Los Angeles on Wednesday to chat with viral-kid whisperer Ellen DeGeneres.
And there’s that word again — viral. It sounds ominous and clinical, like something catchy, something you protect your littles from as Curry did for the early part of Parker’s young life.
In those pre-toddler years, Curry — a stay-at-home mom in Washington who writes a parenting blog called Happy Mama Happy Babies — didn’t post any photos of her daughter’s face online. So what was her gut reaction to the photo with thousands upon thousands of likes from strangers? To be honest, she was bothered.
“We’re talking about a picture of my daughter who’s just 2,” recalled Curry, whose soft voice belies her fierceness. “So when I see this picture floating around with my kid, I’m like, ‘Whoa.’ This is a lot.”
A lot — that’s a common refrain for Curry these days. The media attention? A lot. The emotions? A lot. The pressure? A lot.
Just over 24 hours after the museum visit, the photo began raking up more shares and likes and hearts. Curry decided to reach out to a friend who works in public relations. She told the mom of two not to worry. That this would all probably blow over in a day or two. No need to panic. Life would be back to normal soon.
“I was like, ‘OK, if you say so.’ Tomorrow we can go back to our regular scheduled programming,” Curry said. Then Obama’s office called.
In the meantime, Curry connected with Ben Hines, the man who snapped Parker’s photo. He sent Curry a heartfelt explanation/apology via Facebook. He hadn’t meant to invade the Currys’ privacy.
That same day, the media requests rolled in. “Not like one or two,” Curry said, “but 10 or 15.”
A candid moment caught on someone else’s camera suddenly thrusting your tiny human under a potentially harsh spotlight that’s nearly impossible to control? Most parents don’t plan for that. Curry certainly didn’t, but now that it’s here, the self-described “millennial mama” is trying to wade through the surreal to get to something concrete.
While Curry and her fiance never planned to have Parker and her 1-year-old sister, Ava, in “any spotlight of any kind,” the fact remains that the kids are cute. Parker is bubbly, being trumpeted online as an embodiment of black girl magic. So yes, the kid has a publicist now, Aba Kwawu, a woman of color and mom of two whom Curry contacted after being overwhelmed by “the unbelievable amount of attention.”
For now, Curry chooses to see all of this as “a blessing, an honor.”
“At the end of the day, if she is inspiring people, I am glad to share her,” Curry said. “She amazes me and inspires me every day, and who am I to keep that from other people?”
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