Hoda Kotb and her two daughters, Haley Joy and Hope Catherine, are going through big changes as a family.
The TODAY host recently revealed that she’s moving into a new home with her family and is preparing her daughters for what’s to come.
The New York City apartment was Hoda’s first family home with her daughters. Now, amid a busy summer covering the 2024 Olympics in Paris, she’s taking some time to move in.
What she’s said about the move so far.
Hoda compares moving now to moving during her childhood
On the March 27 episode of her podcast “Making Space,” Hoda said she’s optimistic about what’s to come, even though her childhood experience with moving wasn’t comparable.
“I was thinking about moving. My kids and I are moving somewhere to a new school, and I was thinking about my life and how many times we moved when I was a kid,” she told guest and bestselling author Arthur Brooks on the show.
“And I remember when my parents moved us to Nigeria, I was in fourth grade, I was shocked. We got to this place, the language was different, everyone seemed different, and it was hard. I moved again in sixth grade,” Hoda explained.
“It’s so funny because the stories I tell now as an adult are the stories of how I coped or what I did to cope. But at the same time, as I prepare my kids, I feel like I’m trying to protect them from things that they probably should be in,” she continued.
Brooks, who teaches courses on leadership and happiness at Harvard Business School, says he understands where Hoda is coming from.
The author of “Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life” told her that no matter what happens, her children will have both good and bad experiences with moving.
Hoda’s Emotions About Moving
“I was sitting at my desk this morning, where I sit every morning. I light a candle, I have my journal, I do my stuff,” Hoda told co-host Jenna Bush Hager last month. “And I thought to myself, ‘This is the last Monday I’m going to sit at this desk.'”
The New York City apartment was Hoda’s first family home with daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 5. As she chatted with Jenna, Hoda reminisced about how Haley and Hope went from trying to crawl up the stairs to “running up and down” them as big kids. It’s a space filled with memories.
“We had Christmas and Thanksgiving. There were so many things that we built there,” Hoda said. “And I know it’s just a place.”
Advice Hoda received about moving
Brooks told Hoda on her podcast that the best way to help her family transition to a new place is to pretend she and her daughters have lived there for years.
“Pretend you’re giving an Oscar-winning performance,” he said, adding that she could possibly host private events, such as a Bible study or book club, at her new home to meet people.
“It’s a complete game-changer because you speed up the clock,” Brooks added.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
