Barack Obama Sent Michelle A Birthday Message That’ll Put A Smile On Your Face

Former First Lady Michelle Obama turned 55 on Thursday, and her husband wrote a touching message on social media to celebrate. President Barack Obama's birthday tweet for Michelle calls her "one of a kind" and includes a throwback photo from their youth.

"I knew it way back then and I’m absolutely convinced of it today — you're one of a kind," he wrote on both Twitter and Instagram. "Happy Birthday!" In the photo, the two of them smile at the camera as he drapes his arm around her neck. It seems to be from the late '80s or early '90s, since the newspaper they're holding references Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union. The couple had their first date in 1989, shortly after they met working at a Chicago law firm.

It's not yet clear how Michelle plans to celebrate her birthday. Last year, she got a bouquet of flowers from her husband ("getting notes and flowers from you will never get old" she wrote on Instagram in reference to the gift). That night, the couple had dinner at a D.C. restaurant called A Rake's Progress that, according to The Washington Post, was so "uber-hip" that it hadn't even opened to the public yet. It'll be tough to top that.

The past year has been a big one for the former FLOTUS. In November, she released her memoir Becoming, which quickly became the best-selling book of 2018. It's been at the top of the charts so long that CNN has called it "one of the hottest titles of the decade," and Amazon told the network Becoming has been No. 1 for a longer period than any book since 2012's Fifty Shades of Grey. Michelle was also voted the most admired woman in the United States in a Gallup poll at the end of the year.

The same fall, she launched a 21-city book tour that's taken her all over the country and will take her abroad to France, Denmark, the Netherlands, and various other countries. The tour was originally supposed to wrap up at the end of 2018, but she added an additional 11 locations because it was so popular (the next stop will be in Tacoma, Washington, on Feb. 8).

Michelle has been praised on tour for the way she's managed to create the feeling of having an intimate conversation with interviewers and audiences despite being faced with enormous spaces and giant crowds. Along the way, she's made many revealing comments about her time in the White House, sexism, and her relationship with her husband.

"You have to remember that even the best marriages take work," she told New York City's Barclays Center in December, per Thrive Global. "I love my husband. Our marriage gets stronger with every hard mountain we climb together." She also spoke of the relief she felt right after exiting the White House: "We spent eight years trying to operate in complete perfection. I wept because I told Barack, 'That was so hard.' That was the first time I could say that out loud."

If her 55th year is anything like her 54th, the former first lady is in for a year full of ambitious projects, touching times with her family, and inspiring others.