Thursday, May 8, 2008

Thanks Mom!

Every Mother’s Day I call my Mom from wherever I am in the world and say “Thanks Mom”. Not just because of all the sacrifices she made for me and my brother over the years (she made a lot, and put up with even more because I wasn’t the most obedient kid), I say “thanks Mom” because she played a pivotal part in a decision that forever changed the outcome of my life – here’s the story in a nutshell: In the spring of 1981, I was 12, and was sick all the time. Like most kids who grew up in a four season state like Massachusetts, getting outside was the key to any kid’s sanity after being cooped up for four-plus winter months. The only problem with spring time for me was I always seemed to get sick more than any of the other kids – and most of the time my colds turned into a lung infection of either Bronchitis or Pneumonia, which sucked. So my Mom started taking me to doctors outside our small town until we met this one doctor at a very large hospital in Worcester, MA that I shall never forget – Dr. Z. He examined my lungs then made me do a series of breathing tests into machines that analyzed my lung capacity. After examining my results, the doc turns to my Mom and says: “Your son has asthma, he needs to have a less active lifestyle to lead a healthy life.” He then hands her two prescriptions and walks out.

I stood there and looked at my Mom with a “what did he say” look, and I watched her eyelids narrow – like she was getting pissed (I knew those signals quite well by that age!) and she turned to look me right in the eyes and said: “No one is ever going to tell you what you can or can’t do – you understand?”

That one sentence changed my life. The following years weren’t a bed of roses, I had more than my fair share of lung infections, all the while I took that damn doctor’s meds because we thought it might just help…turns out, SECOND PHASE of BUD/S was the only medicine I needed – that’s another story – but it’s what finally made me say good-bye to over ten years of inhalers and pills. Over the years I’ve done my best to live the spirit of that sentence; I’ve always tried to pass along the spirit to SEAL wannabes or would-be entrepreneurs and it certainly gets passed along to my three sons (sometimes to the chagrin of their mother!). The point is, you’re the master and commander of your ship – it’s your call what you do with your body and how you do it; and once you figure that out and you’ll learn that you’ll be able to control more of your life than you might first thought possible – don’t let ANYONE tell you what you can or can’t do.

So this Mother’s Day don’t pass up the opportunity say thanks to your Mom – chances are she’s made a real impact on your life – mine did - I know what I’ll be saying to her this Sunday.

CHARLIE MIKE - ALDEN

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Are you really a fellow woo-rat? I grew up in Holden, but went to school in Worcester.

Also just wanted to let you know how much the PP rocks!

I work from home with my one year old son and the PP's have been a god send for getting my workout in.

Thanks for your service and thanks for the PP!

Brian
(creator of "Dog eat Doug")

Tracy said...

Hey Alden! This is Tracy from Suz's board and one of the original Revver's over there!!

I've got a PP on the way to my house. I'm suspecting my hubby is going to be using it more than me, but you never know!!

I just wanted to say "Thank you" to YOU for the BodyRev. I've finally found the combination that works for me: BodyRev, walking 5x week, and Weight Watchers Points (man, was I taking in too many calories which is why the exercise wasn't helping for so long!!).

I've lost 12 lbs in the last 6 weeks (after over 2 years of trying with exercise only, which toned me up, but the weight didn't come off)

BodyRev is an important part of my equation for losing weight.

Thanks!!