Dear Mom,
It's me, your middle (and most wonderful) child. I would first like to thank you for creating such an amazing daughter such as I, and I guess my sister and brother are pretty awesome too; but this is just the beginning of all the astonishing things you are capable of and one of the many, many things I am tremendously grateful to you for.
Mom, thank you for being the extremely caring person that you are. As a little kid--and even as a teenager, I, like many others, can honestly say that I might have wished you were not so caring at times. Unlike some of my other friends growing up, I had to ask for your permission to do everything; can I have my friends over? Can I go to this friends house? Can I go to the movies alone? What about the mall? And after what seemed like forever, you finally began responding with 'yes' when you thought that I was old enough. What may have seemed totally obnoxious at the time, you answered with a straight-up "No, don't ask me again!" This is now something I will be forever thankful for. Now that I am 20 years-old and making my own decisions, I always think "What would my mom say?" Because of this, you have made me into an aware, respectful and informed young adult. I am aware of the reasons you said no, I am aware of the purpose of the lectures on how to be careful and the importance of asking before doing. By simply caring for me, you helped shape me into the person I am.
Thank you for being one of the most selfless people I know. We have never been rich and we have always had to work for what we wanted but somehow you managed to give me everything I needed and more, even if it meant you couldn't get what you wanted or even sometimes needed. At times I didn't know how you did it but you did. From working your butt off during the week and working whenever you could on the weekends, you did whatever you had to do for your children. Because of this, I cannot wait until the day I can give you back everything you've given to me and more - you deserve the world, Mom.
Thank you (and sorry) for putting up with my horrendous teenage years. Even I can say that I hope I never have a daughter as mean, psychotic and moody as my teenage self. From yelling at you for saying hello to me, or ripping Brittany's hair out for wearing my shirt, you somehow managed not to kill me, so hey, thank you for that and I am so sorry that I put you through those dreadful years.
Thank you for videotaping my entire childhood. I don't know whether you were actually that bored with your life back then or you just loved us that much, but you literally have our entire childhood on video and it is amazing. From first birthdays, to Christmas, to me just doing my homework or singing karaoke, you recorded it and it is so great to look back at it now and laugh and remember the good times we shared.
Thank you for teaching me to be a strong, smart and independent woman. If there is one thing you have taught me in life it is to go to school and never ever rely on a man, or anybody for anything at all. I remember as far back as 1st grade, you wouldn't let me do anything before my homework was finished once I got home from school. "Do you want to be stupid your whole life? Then do your homework and get good grades!" A little harsh some may say but hey, look where I am now. Not too sure what I am doing with my life but I am doing well and I am staying on track; because of you my priorities are straight.
Lastly, thank you for being a friend (Golden Girls theme song came into my head, thanks to you). You are strict at times, you seem mean at times, you make me cry sometimes, you make me laugh many times, and at the end of the day you are the best friend I have ever had. You are here for me 24 hours, 7 days a week. You feed me, you clothed me, you let me live in your house, what more can I ask for? No, but really, whenever I need someone to cheer me up, I go to you, whenever I need advice, you have it, whenever I am stressed out, you listen, whenever I'm sick and think I'm dying, you assure me I'm not, whenever I'm being dramatic, you bring me back down to Earth. You are always here for me and I hope you know I will always be here for you.
Thank you Mom, for the being the perfect human being that you are.
XOXO
Love,
Taylor
