The date was April 11, 1981.
I remember it like it was yesterday.
I was 5 years old in fact, just one month before turning 6.
it was spring, flowers were blooming.
I was a bright eyed kindergartner with my whole life ahead of me
and that morning forever changed my life
and I’m convinced it made me into the man I am toady.
I remember waking up and my dad calling me and my older
brothers into the living room.
He sat us down on the couch and had to do the unthinkable.
He had to tell his 3 young boys that their mother had passed away.
You see my mother who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and fought
it hard as my dad said for 23 months.
She was 38 when she passed.
Most of my memories of my mom include her sick on the couch.
In fact, I can’t even recall the sound of her voice no matter how hard I try.
Like I said, I have very few memories of her.
I mean how much do your remember prior to being 5 yrs old?
Everyone I ever speak to about her tells me what an amazing, thoughtful, caring woman she was.
So we sit her on mother’s day weekend and I don’t tell you this to bring
you down or want you to feel sorry for me.
In fact, just the opposite.
When I truly self reflect and ask myself WHY I’m so determined to succeed,
to make it in life and try to be a guiding light to so many by helping eradicate
obesity and poor health as we age,
I know at the end of the day it’s because I want to make my mom proud and I
want to help others live a long life on their terms as my mom was unable to do.
So I look at her passing as much as I would rather have her here as a blessing
to the man I’ve become and strive to be.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from perfect.
I know you see me here every week teaching, inspiring and try the motivate you
to take action and improve the quality of your life.
Yes I have an unquenchable thirst and unyielding drive to grow and
expand but at the end of day I’m just as flawed as anyone else.
BUT I use that internal drive every day to make my mom proud of my life’s journey.
I know, it’s cliche, Love those we have because tomorrow is never promised.
I’m thankful for my mom and the gift she has given me as morbid as that may sound.
So on this mother’s day take the time to celebrate whether your mom is here or not.
After all, they gave us life and for that we should always be grateful.
I hope you all have a great mother’s day as my family will celebrate the women
who is the epitome of a rockstar mother and that is my wife Jodi.
I swear she has a cape in her wardrobe as she’s definitely a SuperMom.
She amazes me everyday the way she leads by example for our girls.
As many of your know raising teenage girls is no easy task let alone 3 who are 17, 15 and 12!
But I tell you what she is relentless in teaching, caring, molding our girls
and I often just stand by and watch in amazement.
So happy mother’s day Jodi and all of the amazing moms out there
because we dad’s know all too well whether we say it or not,
you’ve got the hardest job on the planet!
Happy Mother’s Day!