From the moment my mom held me in her arms, we’ve been best friends. Although I don’t know how my mom felt about being friends with a four year old who wanted to be a Barbie princess bride when she grew up, but now as an almost twenty year old, I can confidently say that having my mom as my best friend is the best thing I could’ve asked for.
As my mom and I caught up with ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’ this past weekend, Rory goes to talk to her father about Lorelai raising her alone. She pokes and prods and finally Christopher says that Rory and Lorelai were meant to be, that nothing could have pulled the duo apart. As I sat on the couch, munching on popcorn and giggling at the antics of our favorite TV show, I couldn’t help but compare my experiences with my mom to those of Lorelai and Rory. Through the seven seasons of ‘Gilmore Girls’, my mom and I have related to the dynamic duo on screen time and time again. When Rory had her first boyfriend, when Lorelai and Rory waited with bated breath for Rory’s college acceptance letters, and especially in the later seasons when the two would spend time apart and come back to each other just as excited as before.
While I can always find some resemblance between my mom and I and Lorelai and Rory, life isn't always sunshine and rainbows and days drinking coffee at Luke's Diner. My mom and I have also been through some of the hardest moments of both of our lives together. We've gone through the death of my grandfather, the breaking off of my mom’s engagement, and me coming home from college. Okay.. We might be a little more like Lorelai and Rory more than I thought, but nonetheless I can confidently say that without my mother by my side, I couldn't have gotten through any of those events. No matter if she just has to drive six hours in the middle of the night to come and see me or if she just needs to drive home from work, if the world feels like it's caving in around me, my mom is always there.
Not to be over confident in myself, but I'm the most important thing in my mom's life. I don't know that because she's told me, although she has, I know that because she shows it to me. Day after day, year after year my mother puts everything in her life on hold for me. She goes out of her way to make me happy and puts herself second. Sure, we argue and scream and get mad at each other, but at the end of the day my mom is the person who will stay in the Disney store for an hour because I wanna look at everything, listen to me rant about everything imploding around me and laugh (yes laugh) when I come home with a hickey.
One of my favorite memories with my mom was when I graduated high school. As soon as the principal let us go, I raced through the crowds to find my mom. I finally found my family, but my mom had run off to the bathroom. I brushed it off, smiled and took pictures with my siblings and friends. My mom came back about five minutes later and as soon as I saw her, I ran into her arms and started crying. My mom was the person who pushed me to be better, to finish high school and not give up on myself. Through every choir performance, play or musical, speech or presentation I had to give, my mom was sitting there smiling and clapping and cheering me on like she always has.
So mom: Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for putting me above everything in your life. Thank you for cheering me on. Thank you for giving me this amazing life that I have. Thank you for always telling me to never give up. Thank you for loving me, no matter what.
