Dear mom,

I want to start this letter off by saying I am sorry. I am sorry that this has taken so long to write, you deserve a thousand of these and even then, I do not think you could ever understand just how grateful I am to have had you as my mom. This letter could go on for days. There are hundreds of things I can think of that you have done for me that most of the time I forget to tell you I appreciate you but I decided to pick just a few and hope that you might even begin to understand just how much you mean to me. So here it goes,

Thank you for giving up everything to raise me and my siblings. I hear people say this a lot, but for you, I will always know that this is true. There are a lot of people who will never get to say that they had the kind of childhood I had because honestly it was an amazing one. You and my dad both gave up a lot of things at a young age and even now to make sure that we never wanted for anything, but you also made sure we knew the value of what we had. You took years of criticism for almost every decision you guys made but I always knew that everything you did was done with your best intentions in mind. I knew on nights when you had to work late and maybe miss a game that you did not do it because you wanted to, but because you had to, and even then you still made sure that most mornings and nights we always had a home cooked meal. I can never begin to tell you how much that meant to me, and with that...

Thank you for being my first true friend. I know that sounds cliché, but this statement is too true. As far back as I can remember you have always been the first person I thought I should go to with any problem. When I was scared, lost, angry, or just all around confused I knew that I could go to you and find someone who would try to help me find my way again. You have always been right there around a corner of the house ready to listen to every single problem I’ve had. From boys to mean girls to the times when I questioned everything about the sport I loved, you were always right there to offer a hug and a mindful ear. I miss the nights where I would stay up waiting for you to get home from work just so I could unload what I thought was a stressful day, never fully appreciating just how hard you tried to make it seem like yours was not that bad. This composure and grace is something I have tried to carry with me into my friendships going on today and I know it is because of you. Speaking of friends..

Thank you for always trying to make sure the people I hung around with had good intentions. I know when we are young we think that when our parents dislike one of our friends they just do not understand them, but you always took a careful judgment before giving an opinion on a person. There were a few times I remember getting mad at you for thinking that the people I hung around with could ever do wrong but you always seemed to know before I did when a person was not going to try to build me up. You just wanted me to surround myself with people who had my best interests. I am sorry that I did not always see this. Of course, that does not mean that you made me try to cut my ties with those people; you knew I needed to make my own my mistakes. So for that,

Thank you for never trying to force your opinions on me. Let’s be honest, we both know when it came to things you disagreed with you almost always had your own opinion that you were not afraid to tell me, however, you never made me feel like your thoughts had to be my own. You taught me to be true to myself and the people around me. Whether it came to my friends, my sport, or even school you always wanted me to make decisions on my own and learn the consequences of my actions. Honestly, this is something I think has really helped me my two years so far in college and for that I want to thank you. Without you pushing me to make my own decisions from an earlier age I would probably be a much different person and probably a very confused person here in my undergrad years. Which brings me to this...

Thank you for continuing to do your very best while I am away. I know these last two years have not been easy for you, honestly they definitely have not been easy for me. Like I said before, growing up I always knew that somewhere just around the corner in the house I knew I could find you any time I needed someone to vent my frustrations to and now here I am hours away from you and often I find that for both of us we just do not have the time that we used to have to talk every day. It is hard for me realizing that this is just what it is like being an adult, we are busy and there just are not enough hours in some days for us to be free at the same time and it is difficult, but I know for you this empty feeling is there and then some.

A lot of days I wish I could be 16 again, waiting for you to come home, but I know that for now those days are gone, but lucky for me that does not mean you are too. So I just want to end this small thank you letter with this. Overall, thank you for making me into the person I am today. Everything I am is because of you. Thank you for your strength, your wisdom and your patience. But most of all, thank you for being my mom, the very best you could possibly be.