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