Mom,
There are so many things I want to tell you. After years of you putting me first and telling me how much you love me, it’s my turn. This will hardly be able to skim the surface but here it goes.
You are, by far, the strongest person I have ever known. I have yet to meet another woman like you. You may not realize this (or even believe me), but you come across as having such a strong confidence in everything you do. Growing up and seeing your ambition is what taught me to be strong and to not let every little thing life throws at me tear me down, but instead, build me up.
You are so incredibly hardworking. Everything you ever did was for your family. You dedicated your life to raising us and giving us the best childhood. While I might not have told you before, I still remember everything: the Girl Scouts, the birthday parties, the homemade Halloween costumes, the bedtime stories, and even the times you would put a Disney Band-Aid on every single little scratch that I swore was going to kill me. I know I took most of what you did for me for granted at the time, and I’m sorry for all the times I made you sad, but just know everything you ever did holds a special place in my heart and I could not be more thankful.
You are extremely intelligent. To this day, it shocks me at how much you know. You have always been my personal source of reference for everything. I am so grateful that your love of knowledge rubbed off on me. I remember begging you for homework assignments before I was even in kindergarten. I just hope that one of these days I’ll be able to beat you at scrabble or a crossword puzzle. I also hope we write a book together someday because who knows what would result from putting our two minds together.
You showed me what I’m capable of. Whenever you saw me struggling, you told me I could do it. You pushed me to be successful, and while at the time I may not have understood (and even maybe fought back), I now see it was because you knew my potential. Because of you, I am now going into the second half of my college career with grades that I’m proud of and the confidence to know I can finish college strong. You taught me that I can do anything I put my mind to.
You’re really caring. Everyone who knows you knows this about you. At times it can even seem like you care too much (if that’s even a thing). The love you showed me was that of a really great mom and friend, but your affection for people doesn’t stop with your family. I see it in the way you care for your students and their success, your friends, and the way you’ve accepted my boyfriend as a legitimate part of our family. You simply don’t allow yourself to not give your all to the people you care about. I am so thankful for growing up with you as my example for how to love.
You’re my best friend. You understand me so well. We tell each other everything and we could talk for hours. You always keep it real. No sugarcoating and no judgments. I know that whatever question I ask you, you’ll respond to with an honest answer. It doesn’t take much for us to have a good time. We could go explore somewhere, go see a movie, or even just run errands and we can easily feel like we had a blast. I will always be able to depend on you for anything because you’ll always be there.
I don’t tell you as much as I should but I’m telling you now. You have and always will be my role model.
Thank you for everything you do.
I love you to the moon and back.