This week, Oiselle is celebrating moms and which inspired me to go a little bit beyond the “best mom ever” Instagram post to honor mine.
On this day, an undisclosed number of years ago, superwoman was born. I call her mom. You can call her Cathy.
Growing up, my mom was always active. I swear, the woman never stopped moving (still hasn’t stopped). By day she’d chase the children she provided daycare for around our back yard and by night she’d instruct countless aerobics classes out of the studio she owned. I’d watch (and try to keep up), as she jumped around the room shouting motivating anecdotes into a microphone without ever stopping to take a breath. Richard Simmons can’t hold a candle to her. From a very young age, my mom has shown me what it looks like to be an active woman, confident in her own skin and in control of her health.
Around the time I was nine or ten, she decided to seek out self-defense training to better teach women how to be confident in the skills necessary to protect oneself from an attack. A year later, I no longer watched her from the back of an aerobics studio, instead, I watched her from the outside of the karate floor. Soon, I joined her. Before too long, my mom had climbed her way through the ranks and I sat in awe as she had a black belt tied around her waist for the first time. For years I trained and competed, side by side with my mother, a unique experience I will always cherish. Now, she’s a master of Tang Soo Do and the owner of her own school. She teaches children and adults of all ages self-defense skills, respect, self-confidence, discipline, and a slew of other hard to come by characteristics. My mom has shown me what it looks like to take risks, be in charge, lead with grace, and exude strength.
I don’t believe my mom got serious about running until I got serious about running in ninth or tenth grade, but when she puts her mind to something she’s all in. By my freshman year of college, I was standing at mile twenty-five of the Corning Wineglass Marathon cheering her to the finish. Four years later, I was standing at the starting line of the very same marathon next to her. Running my first marathon alongside my mom is something I feel incredibly privileged to have shared. Despite five knee surgeries, she keeps going, winning her division in a 5k just a few weeks ago. She makes the Energizer Bunny look pathetic. Through running my mom has shown me what resilience, pride, and humility look like.
From college track meets to Boston Marathon’s, she’s been my cheerleader for it all. She’s brought me champagne after a marathon PR and tissues after a marathon disaster. No matter what, she always tells me she’s proud. She reassures me when I call her crying stressed about work, school, money, friends, or running and she threatens any guy who ever makes me feel worthless. I cannot think of a time when I turned to my mom and she wasn’t there ready to support me unconditionally. My mom has shown me what it looks like to be a dedicated, loving, and selfless mother.
Through it all, she has never put herself first. I wish she would take the time to treat herself as number one but her heart is just too big. Not only is she my number one fan but she’s the number one fan of my sister, my niece, her karate student’s, and students she works with at school. She gives a little piece of herself to everyone she meets and it’s hard not to feel inspired when you’re around her. I’ve seen her hurt and it kills me, but I can only hope to live my life in a way that makes her proud and brings her joy. I am so honored to have the privilege of being her daughter.
Mom, thank you for dedicating the past 25 years of your life to inspiring me and others. You will never understand how much you have taught me or the way you influence my daily life. I am in constant awe of all you do and I could not ask for a better role mama. I’ll come home soon so we can drink wine and watch Lifetime movies. Happy birthday, I love you.
Alexis Fairbanks 