“When you have kids, they're not a plan to be executed.”
Willie Geist is excited for his daughter’s latest milestone — despite the terror involved.
The 50-year-old host of “Sunday Today” took to a TODAY Father’s Day celebration on June 13 to open up about the mixed emotions he’s feeling as his 17-year-old daughter, Lucie Joy, graduates high school.
And that, of course, means getting used to being a family-of-three at home, rather than a family-of-four.
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“We just had a high school graduation a few days ago for Lucie Geist,” Geist said to a panel of Today colleagues that included Craig Melvin, Al Roker, Carson Daly and Peter Alexander.
“All the best stuff is still coming,” Geist added.
Geist goes on to admit that he and his wife, Christina, have “done the best we can” with their daughter and are thrilled for her as she embarks on this next chapter of her life.
“It’s a strange mix of genuine excitement for her because you know what’s ahead, and then moments where you’re driving around and the bottom drops out of your stomach,” he explained.
“And you go, ‘I can’t believe that we’ve gotten her to this point,” he added.
Of course, Lucie leaving the nest comes at a price for Geist — like driving a car with three wheels.
“We’re a family of four. Somebody’s taken a tire off the car and you’ve got to figure out how to drive the car on three wheels, you know?” he told his colleagues.
Peter Alexander was quick to offer some perspective on how special of a time this can be for his second child, who will be getting much more attention once Lucie leaves.
“I don’t know how he feels about that, but we’re excited about it,” Geist joked of George.
Willie and Christina Geist first met in 6th grade and have been married since 2003. Geist shared the couple’s origin story in an Instagram tribute for his wife’s 50th birthday.
“She was 11 when she caught my eye on the first day of Mr. Kaplan’s 6th Grade homeroom class. A gawky boy in Jams and Chuck Taylors can dream… but not this big,” he wrote.
Now more than two decades later, the couple share two kids — daughter Lucie, born in 2007, and son George, born in 2009.
Geist reveals one way his parenting will change once Lucie leaves
While talking about his daughter’s recent graduation, Geist clarified that Lucie will be moving several hours away when she goes off to college.
Some parents might use that as a reason to track their child’s location remotely — but not Geist.
In fact, Geist admitted that he and his wife will be doing away with location-tracking software — despite currently using it — once their daughter leaves.
Geist argued that tracking his daughter’s location would cause more trouble than reassurance.
His comments came just a few days after he first opened up about his daughter graduating while co-hosting “Today with Jenna & Friends” with Jenna Bush Hager.
“As any parent who has been through this — or maybe you’re going through it right now — knows, the excitement at times becomes terror,” he said on June 10.
Geist admitted that the week leading up to her graduation was so full of activities that her big milestone didn’t hit him until he saw her walking across the stage.
“She was on stage speaking, which was an amazing thrill, and I think that’s when it really hit me and Christina,” Geist shared.
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“All of a sudden, she’s ready to go,” he added. “And you hope you’ve instilled in her all the values and the habits and the things she’ll need to go out in the world.”
