Sunday Night With John: My Forever Cheerleader

It’s well known by now, the story of my mother’s famous cheer. How it embarrassed us as we traversed the world of youth sports, high school sports, and, for my brother and I, college sports!  My mom would open her mouth and give a ear-shattering "woo" chant over and over again.  My mom’s dream scenario happened about eight years ago when I invited my brother out to play on a weekend flag football team and she came along. Both of her boys on a team and, even though it was just a meaningless sports event used as an excuse to hang with my friends all weekend, she could not resist. The "Woo! Woo! Woo!" chant was out in full force. My mom, the forever cheerleader of our lives, found a way to "woo" her boys even as adults.  

While 99% of the woo chants in my mom's life is dedicated now to her grandchildren, I hope they appreciated it more than I did. Because, to be honest, as you age you get a lot less cheerleading spurring you on in life. I miss the woo chant from time to time. My last woo chant came at the rehearsal dinner at my wedding three years ago. My mom gave speech, and as she gave it I could tell where it was headed and at the end she led our rehearsal crowd in a woo chant for my wife and I. I had to brush away tears and the familiar chant that made me gag as a kid, reappeared as a reminder of what makes my mom so great. She will never stop cheering for her loved ones.

Recently, I have finished my my coursework for graduate school, completed a marathon, and booked more appearances to spread the message of "Share Emotions, Emotions Matter" while maintaining everything else about life. I was busy enough where, at points, I was just hoping to keep my head above water. Even though I was in Iowa and my mom resides in Ohio, she took notice of her baby boy accomplishing his life goals. She was in no position to sit in the stands and woo her boy on, but she wanted to let me know she noticed what I was up to. I checked the mail yesterday and, sure enough, there was a letter from my mom. It hit all the heartstring notes, stating that my dad would be proud of me, that she was proud of me, and that I was doing good work for the world. Just when I thought I was done hearing my mom "woo" for me, she found a way to send a "woo" snail-mail style. I had to brush away more than just a couple of tears as my first and forever cheerleader found a way to still "woo" me on.