My Mother: Taught Me “To Fly”

Lu Ann Cahn's curiosity and love of life came from her gutsy mom

We're celebrating Mother's Day this year by honoring our own moms here at NBC10. The third story in our My Mother series is from NBC10 Investigator Lu Ann Cahn, who credits her mother Carol for her passion, drive and love of life.

I think this picture of me and my mother on the swings may represent my earliest memory of my mom teaching me "to fly." I feel like I can remember my mother saying "Swing your legs. You can go higher!" I remember laughing with her out loud, experiencing that thrill.

At every stage of my life, she's been my cheerleader, my coach, my wings, saying "you can go higher." Her message was always, "Life is an adventure. Go out there and live it."

Always through example she has shown me that helping others was a key to happiness. I can't tell you how often my mother was working on a volunteer project for the community, helping or advocating for someone.

There is no doubt I get much of my persistence and determination to try to right wrongs from her. She is the ultimate super consumer. If someone has given her excellent service somewhere, she'll fire off a letter to the president of the company to compliment them. If someone has provided poor service, watch out! She is the original "kick down the door and get answers" woman. She would have been a great investigative reporter.

Unfortunately, my mother and I share the same "gut." We've both had our large intestines removed because of  ulcerative colitis, an intestinal bowel disorder that runs in our family. When I was growing up, my mother was always going to someone's home to show them they could get out of bed and live a full life with this disease or after surgery. She showed me. She is the original survivor. I've learned to turn "lemons into lemonade" because that's what my mother has always done.

Though we live thousands of miles from each other now, I can't tell you how many times she's gotten on a plane and been at my side in a crisis. Everyone in my family knows, when my mom is around, there's a mighty force in the room. No one is going to mess with you.

My mom has an incredible love of life. She exudes it still. At age 73, Carol Berman, my mom, can still run circles around people far younger.

I like to think I've passed on all of these attributes and lessons to my own daughter: "Enjoy life, experience the world, follow your passions." If I have, it's because my Mom taught me from my first steps in life that walking is fine,  but if you live life right, you can learn to fly.

Happy Mother's Day mom

I love you,

Lu Ann

You can fan Lu Ann and the NBC10 Investigators on Facebook

She also has her own Facebook page

And this year she's also blogging every day about her own personal adventure, One Year of Firsts

Contact Us