My Mom
I just registered for both days of Downeast Cyclocross in the Elite class. I probably won’t win , but I will race my ass off for sure. This will be the first time I have ever raced a bike in my home state. It will be the first time I have ever competed in anything in the State of Maine without my mom seeing it. Every home soccer game in nasty northern Maine weather she was there (even though I was mostly a bench warmer), every home ski meet (in worse weather) she was there as a gate keeper, every track meet she was there. My freshmen year of high school I was a total spaz. I grew like 3 inches that summer and was incredibly awkward. At soccer practice we had to juggle a ball ten times or run laps for every miss under 10. I almost always ran 9 laps. Track, I could barely reach the sand in the jump pit. It was only on the ski slope that I had any success. I was actually good (my mom taught me to ski) and was skiing as 3rd seed on a pretty stacked team as a freshman. Our school was small and there was not a lot of money for sports so at the start of my sophmore year the school board announced that the ski team would be cut. I was crushed. About 2 seconds after that announcement my mom was organizing bottle drives to save the ski team. We worked our asses off and the ski team was saved. That moment my athletic career was born. If it was not for my mom saving the ski team I never would have had the drive or ambition to stick with soccer or track. I did soccer to get in shape for ski season (never did get very good but did start my senior year) and track to stay in shape for skiing. Ultimately I was better at track and competed (and lettered) at the NCAA Div 1 level. All because of a bottle drive organized by a tough stubborn lady. My mom has always been there for me. Now it is my turn to be there for her. After my race next Sunday I will be heading north to help mom recover from her bone marrow transplant. This is not a sacrifice it is a privledge. I can’t imagine the kind of pain she has dealt with in the last few months. From what I understand there are bad days and worse days. This battle has really taken its toll on her. I will do whatever it takes, if I need to stay for a year I will do it. There is no way I can ever repay my mom for everything she has sacrificed for me and my brothers. All I can do is live each day to its fullest and be the best person I can be. That is what my mom taught me.
