Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan are visible figures when it comes to the Parkinson’s disease advocacy space, but they tend to keep their personal and family life away from the spotlight for the most part.
However, on rare occasions, the star couple share peeks into their family time with their four grown children, as was the case with Tracy’s latest photos shared on her Instagram Stories.
The actress, 63, shared several sweet snaps from a family vacation with husband Michael, 62, and their brood of four – son Sam, 34, twin daughters Aquinnah and Schuyler, 28, and youngest daughter Esmé, 22.
In the first photo Tracy posted, the family’s three daughters could be seen happily smiling in front of what looked like a quaint European winter wonderland, complete with bright fairy lights, cobblestone streets, and bare trees.
In another photo, Michael posed in front of a Christmas tree with his son, who looked just like his dad in his wide-rimmed sunglasses and green sweater.
In a final snap, Tracy posed alongside her four children and a friend for a full shot as the snow swirled around them, showcasing just how much they’d all grown in the public eye.
The Back to the Future actor, who has been married to his former Family Ties co-star for 35 years, has previously spoken highly about his kids and the joys of parenting.
In an interview with Reader’s Digest, he shared his parenting advice, which was: “Always be available to your kids. Because if you say, ‘Give me five minutes, give me 10 minutes,’ it’ll be 15, it’ll be 20. And then when you get there, the shine will have worn off whatever it is they wanted to share with you.”
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He added: “I’ve never gotten up to see something one of my kids wanted to show me and not been rewarded.”
Speaking with Good Housekeeping, the star reflected on his Parkinson’s battle and whether it had affected his relationship with his children whatsoever. He opened up about family rituals, saying: “We’ll go up to the country.
“And it’s not unusual to make popcorn and then for all six of us to climb into bed and watch TV – just bodies everywhere. We are a really affectionate family, and we laugh a lot.”
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He added: “And you know, with Parkinson’s, my kids just make the transition. If I am reaching for something, they will just do it and carry on.
“Again, people say to me, “How do you cope?” And I think, Cope?! It’s really hard to even think that way. Sometimes I’ll stop and think, Am I selling short the experience my family is having? But then I’ll look back at it and say, no – they’re having fun.”
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Michael explained that when it comes to the lessons Parkinson’s taught him about being a dad, it was that “there is not one moment that is frozen in time.
“There is no better example than to watch four kids grow up. For instance, I’m not feeling particularly steady right now, but this is not going to last for more than a couple of minutes. Same with raising kids. There are no moments you have frozen in amber. It’s moving, it’s changing, so appreciate what’s good about right now and be ready for what’s next.”
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