Let me first start by saying that no thank you I can possibly deliver could measure up to the one you deserve. Raising children is already a significant feat, but when your responsibility suddenly doubles, it becomes immeasurable. I wish I could say I made things easy for you growing up; that I came home everyday and started helping around the house, or that I put myself in your shoes before I complained about something. But the truth of the matter is, I often tried to live as if I had two parents. You always tried to make my life as normal as possible, and for that, along with countless other reasons, I will always admire you.
You are the strongest woman I know and make it so easy to want to grow up to be just like you. It would have been undoubtedly so much easier to quit being mom whenever dad quit being dad, but you never even thought of throwing in the towel. Instead, you wake up each and every morning, despite the previous day’s adversity, and rise to the challenge. And you do so with such grace.
A mom and dad together function at 100 percent, but you function at 150. It is mind-blowing how much love you have in your heart for your children, but it is so relevant to anyone who meets you. You never think anything you do is good enough, and I’m here to tell you, you passed “good enough” miles and miles ago. It breaks my heart to think that you question your abilities, because I lay in bed every night thinking about how lucky I am to have a woman in my life that would and does do absolutely anything for me. Nothing is impossible for you, no matter how defeated you may feel sometimes.
You are the light of so many lives and you have a heart of gold. I know I will not understand your daily struggles until I have children of my own, so for now, I just want you to know how much I appreciate your perseverance through them. I love you oh so much, angel.