1. Choosing our friends

Parents knew the bad apples in the group almost immediately. I never understood why it was a big deal who I surrounded myself with back in the day, but now am grateful that you never let me get involved with the wrong crowd at school.

2. Being my chauffeur

Aaah ... the days when I would sit back in the passenger seat and have you drive my obnoxious friends and me to the mall only to have you pick us up two hours later. Or when I would have you pick up a friend and then drop us off at another friend's house and then drive us all back home. I can only imagine how much gas money I owe you. Good thing you accepted payment in the form of love.

3. Being my biggest Fan

There is nobody else who would have been at every dance rehearsal or practice or performance. No matter what the event or where it took place, I knew I would always be able to spot you in the crowd cheering me on.

4. Buying me clothes I didn't need

I regret being sucked into the Abercrombie and Hollister trends that you knew would only last a year. Even though you were paying fifty dollars for a shirt with a tiny moose on it, you knew it would make me happy and bought it anyway. Or how about all the clothes that I HAD to have that sat in my closet with tags hanging from them all while getting sucked into the black hole in the back of my closet.

5. Making me get a J-O-B

I knew I wouldn't be able to live in the house like a bum forever without you saying something. At the time, getting a job was not what I really had in mind, but hey, now I have something to put on my resume. That was your plan all along, right?

6. Putting up with attitude

I know how sassy I was and how much attitude I gave you on a daily basis, and you still loved me. Only a parent can deal with the sassiness of an ungrateful teenage girl, and you somehow managed to do it with a smile. Kudos!

7. Being my personal secretary

Between appointments, practice, play dates and school, you knew exactly where I needed to be and when I needed to be there. I remember missing a couple here and there, but I will let those slide.

8. Making my lunch every day

I could always count on a lunch to be packed and waiting on the table in the morning when I woke up for school. I know my lunches wouldn't have tasted nearly as good as yours did. The best part of lunch was reading the note on the napkin everyday. Now, I am lucky if I get a lunch break in between classes and work! What I wouldn't do for a note on a napkin to get me through my day.

9. Rules

Your rules were cruel and unfair, or so I thought. Looking back, I was so mad that I had a curfew and thought you were SO mean. Now I know you wanted me to be home where I was safe and not "roaming the streets" getting into trouble. I know Mom and Dad ... "only bad things happen after midnight!"

10. Last BUT not least, letting me be me

You never tried to shape me into something I wasn't. Every decision I made, you supported with nothing but love. You supported me when I wanted to be a gymnast for a week and when I wanted to join the track team in high school, even though I hated to run. You were there through the silly phases of clip-in feathers for my hair and when I thought it was cute to wear jean skirts to school. You encouraged me to be who I wanted regardless of whether I looked goofy or wasn't so good at whatever I was doing.

I can't thank you enough for all you have done for me over the years. You give me the world. I am one lucky girl to have parents like you!