Personal life
Coolidge was delighted when she became first lady of the United States, but she soon felt constrained by her role and the expectations that came with it. She described a divide between her true self and her job, saying that her "personal likes and dislikes must be subordinated" to the first ladyship. When she was not tending to her responsibilities, Coolidge spent her days shopping and taking miles-long walks. She kept with her sewing and knitting, making some of her own dresses. She enjoyed the large residential quarters in the White House and decorated it to her liking.
To limit anything potentially controversial, Coolidge's husband strictly controlled her activities. After she received press coverage for going out horse-riding, he instructed her to "not try anything new", and her personal projects were limited to the traditional role of the first lady to work with the Girl Scouts. He also asked her not to smoke in public, a rule which he had also imposed on himself. New constraints on her time also burdened her. She often did not know her own schedule, being told shortly beforehand whether she was to accompany her husband to an event or that he had scheduled an appearance for her. She once complained about not knowing their schedule, but the president rebutted that he could not "give out that information promiscuously". Adding to her stress, the weather in Washington caused problems with her sinuses.
Coolidge had a penchant for animals and used her time in the White House to gather numerous pets, including several dogs and birds. The family's white collies, Rob Roy and Prudence Prim, were the most popular among the public. For her closer friends, she left calling cards on behalf of her dog in addition to her own. Coolidge received several wild animals as gifts and had them sent to live in the zoo, but she kept a raccoon, Rebecca. Despite the Coolidges' adoration for the raccoon, Rebecca wreaked havoc on the White House and scared the staff, and she too was sent to live at the zoo.
The Coolidges always dined with guests or people staying at the White House during afternoon and evening meals, but each morning they ate breakfast privately in their bedroom. Through her role, Grace Coolidge became friends with figures such as Alice Roosevelt Longworth and William Howard Taft. When Longworth discovered she was pregnant, Coolidge was the first person she told outside of her family. The Coolidges spent many of their weekends on the presidential yacht and vacationed in Massachusetts, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin. They also made occasional trips to attend events in New York City. In 1925, they established a Summer White House in Swampscott, Massachusetts. Coolidge chose the location, then regretted it when her husband was not happy. She enjoyed attending film and theater events, and was a common sight at the National Theatre. In some cases, she sat among the audience instead of in a box. Coolidge was also the first of the first ladies to listen to the radio in the White House. In early 1924, her younger son, Calvin Jr., taught her how to swim. According to Ike Hoover, the White House Chief Usher, Coolidge was the first first lady to try a cigarette.
The Coolidges were devastated by the sudden death of Calvin Jr. at age 16 on July 7, 1924. He developed a blister on his foot while playing tennis a few days before, which caused lethal blood poisoning. Coolidge stopped hosting at the White House for several weeks while she grieved. She became emotionally distant with her husband as neither were comfortable expressing their grief. To ease her pain, she took up poetry and looked to religion. She made a point not to express grief publicly. Each day, she placed one rose in a vase beside Calvin Jr.'s photograph and one on his bed. She invited people they knew to comfort them at the White House, including her father-in-law as well as Alice Longworth with her infant daughter.
Coolidge attended the farewell party for C. Bascom Slemp, her husband's presidential secretary, at the onset of her husband's second term; Slemp requested her presence specifically at the event where there were otherwise no women. She maintained her close relationship with her father-in-law until his death in March 1926, and her letters about the family's goings on brought him comfort toward the end of his life. Her son John became quite popular and frequently received invitations to parties by early 1927 when he was out of school for the winter, but she restricted his activities knowing that these events could go until 5:00 a.m.
