Though pop culture’s quintessential mother-daughter relationship suggests that there’s nothing more relatable than a teenager slamming their door screaming, “I hate you!” to the woman that gave them life, I’d like to take a stand and profess how not true that is for me. As I reflect on the oscillating ups and downs of the past 21 years of my life, the love, support and endless encouragement I’ve received from my mother seem to highlight all of my flashbulb memories.
So, sorry, but I refuse to participate in the cultural expectation of hating on how “uncool” or “overbearing” my mother is because frankly, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m not even slightly embarrassed to profess that my mother is my best friend, I would absolutely give my life for her because she means everything to me. And I genuinely hope all of you reading have the privilege of feeling that way, too. (About your own mother, of course…but if you’d like to show my mom a little more love, go right ahead!)
One of the greatest injustices current mothers have endured is our generational stigmatization of mother-daughter relationships as being a rocky road or inherently unpleasant (I’m lookin’ at you, Ladybird). Newsflash: It’s not embarrassing to be best friends with your mom! Neither is wanting to hang out with her, calling her 50 times a day to chat (if there was a way to go over call minutes on an unlimited plan, I’m sure my mom and I would’ve found it by now) or yelling to the world how much you love and appreciate her. Our moms do everything for us, so it’s about time we start showing them some gratitude. We are lucky to have them in our lives; don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s the other way around.
Now, allow me the pleasure of introducing you to one of the greatest gifts bestowed upon our world today: my mom, Mary. She has been a wonderful role model for my sisters and me, teaching us only the best morals, values and life lessons (my only critique concerns her love of Hallmark movies, but that’s a story for another day). She offers us a shoulder to cry on, unconditional love during our brightest and darkest days, advice in the stickiest of situations and support in every single one of our pursuits—regardless of how crazy they may seem (P.S. thanks for indulging my two seconds of wanting to be a dolphin trainer at SeaWorld in the seventh grade).
No amount of words would ever be enough to express how truly thankful I am for all that my mother does for my family and me—one day a year in celebration feels severely insufficient for the tireless work all mothers do year-round. But let me start off by saying: Thank you, Mom, I hope you know that I’d willingly walk across a pile of Legos barefoot just to show how much you mean to me.
On a similar note, you don’t have to wait for a silly day in the calendar to fully express to your own mother how much you love her, and you don’t need to put on a show for your friends by bagging on the woman who undoubtedly loves you most in the world. Trust me, it’s cool to be best friends with your mom, and even if it wasn’t—who cares?
Alternatively, I’d like to draw attention to the fact that every parent and child suffer through rough patches, fights and screaming matches (my mom and I included—nobody’s perfect!). But in those dark times, I remember that my mother is always going to be waiting for me with open arms and a heart full of forgiveness. That knowledge alone is the greatest blessing life has bestowed upon me in my 21 years of life, and spoiler alert (in case you were wondering)…My mother’s “Momma-Bear hugs” truly do heal all.