Dear Mom and Dad,

Since Mother’s Day was last month, and Father’s Day is right here, I wanted to take this time to write an open letter to my parents… for parenting.

Thank you guys both so much for spanking me as a child. I know at the time that I couldn’t stand it, but as a grown up I’m glad there was a punishment for my actions. Thank you for always disciplining me out of love and not out of anger.

Thanks for letting me be a weird child (because let’s be honest, I was) and letting me try everything under the sun before I figured out what it was I loved.

Thank you for all of the late nights you were out driving me home from football games, practices or my friend’s houses.

Thank you for taking me on my first “date” to the movies growing up and proceeding to chauffer me and my “boyfriends” around until one of us turned 16.

Thank you for listening to me complain about all my drama with my friends from the time I was five-years-old until now.

Thank you for pushing me to try my hardest and not ever letting me quit a team, no matter how terrible I was at it.

Thank you for making me try new things, even if I didn’t like them so that I would be open and willing to at least try things throughout my life.

Thank you for pushing me to try my hardest in college, and for letting me change my major a billion times while I tried to figure out what I wanted to do.

Thanks for putting up with all the weird boys I brought home and pretending to like them all for my sake.

Thank you for giving me money, even as an adult, so that I can go do things I want to do, even if it’s not necessary.

Thank you for providing for me. I’ve never gone hungry a day in my life, and that’s all thanks to you working your tails off every day to make sure we can survive.

Thank you for binge watching silly television shows with me on Netflix and for making obscure references to them for the rest of our lives.

Thank you for encouraging me to read, and for teaching me how to think on my own.

Thank you for understanding, that as an adult, we may have different opinions on things, but that’s all thanks to you two teaching me how to think.

Thank you for letting me fall flat on my face, but always being there to pick me back up again.

Thank you for absolutely adoring each other and showing me what the meaning of "true love" really is.

Thank you for teaching me that independence is something to be proud of, and for letting me be my own person.

Most of all, thank you for being Godly, Christian examples for me to follow.

I grew up the luckiest girl in the world thanks to my amazing parents who taught me how life works.

I love you both. Very much.