Dear Mom,
As a child, no one wants to admit when their parents are right. We like to rebel and do things because you advised against them. Looking back as a young adult, I now realize a lot of things you warned me about, suggested and told me to do were 100 percent correct. More specifically, when you told me...
"Wear a jacket to the bus stop! You will catch a cold and you're not staying home from school."
I always brushed this off-- yeah yeah Mom, whatever you say. Only, you were right, and I always came crying back to you when I had a sore throat and you still took care of me. Either that, or I froze my butt off waiting for a late bus to come.
"Don't eat too much. You will get an upset stomach."
If I had a dollar for every time you told me I was eating too much and I would regret it hours later, I would be extremely wealthy. You always told me to eat healthier and cut back on the sweets, but I never listened. I would shove whatever I wanted in my face and always came moaning to you that I had the worst stomach pains. You knew best for sure.
"Don't let anyone's negativity fill your mind."
You would always tell me not to give the negative things people say any ounce of attention. You encouraged me to do my best and as long as I did, that is all that mattered.
"Don't go out tonight. Stay home and study!"
Whenever I did not care to study for exams and wanted to hang out with friends, you would suggest that I stay home and focus on studying instead. Your gentle nature of only suggesting and leaving me with the ultimate decision of what to do showed that you trusted my judgement and meant the world to me.
"Don't take the guy who broke your heart back when he comes crawling back to you."
"He is not worth it," you would always say, and you were correct. You showed me that no one who hurts me deserves my respect. You taught me to be a woman who does not settle for less than she deserves.
"Hang up your clothes right after they are washed so they don't pile up."
I'm a young girl-- almost all of us have that chair in our rooms with the pile of 100 clothing items. Every time I had a small pile of laundry on the chair, you advised me to hang them up otherwise the pile would grow. I never listened and always had to deal with the headache of my messy room.
"Wear sunscreen at the beach."
A simple request, yet I was too lazy. I wanted to instantly enter the water the second I stepped foot in the sand. I never wanted to put on sunscreen first and when all the other kids listened to their parents, they were protected. I ended up with bad sunburn quite a few times and when I was in pain, I knew it was my own fault.
"Always forgive people. Life is way too short to hold grudges."
Some of the worst fights I have had with friends always resulted in us working things out as adults. You made me realize that life can change in an instant and people should always be forgiven to help YOU move on. You can leave those people who don't deserve your time in the past, but never hold a grudge.
"Don't procrastinate."
This is one I still don't listen to. "Do the project now Jess, you won't want to do it later," you always said. You taught me that doing things in advance and getting them done feels better than doing them at the last minute and cramming for time.
"Read the directions first."
When setting up things like my shoe organizer, my new dresser drawers, and the backyard tent, you would always advise that I read the directions. You know I always rushed through these things and that is why they never ended up being the way they were supposed to be!
"Save your money; you will be glad you did one day."
When I spend money on silly things just to spend it, I always hear you in the back of my head saying, "Save your money." Saving money is an important part of life and you were right-- going back and seeing a bigger bank account because I decided not to buy some things felt good and made me feel responsible.
"Don't stress, everything will always work out."
This is your favorite line and it is my favorite too. Whenever I am going through a tough time or had a bad day, you remind me that things will get better. Everything will make sense soon and will go back to normal. You have shown me that pain is temporary and there is so much in life to be thankful for.
"You are not going to understand or appreciate what I was saying all along, until you're older."
This brings me to now. I can finally say mom, you were right.
Thank you for all you have done for me as my mother. You may make mistakes, but no one is a perfect parent. There is no manual on how to raise a child and considering how the three of us came out, you definitely did something right. Don't be so hard on yourself. Happy Mother's Day to my best friend.
I love you forever.
Your daughter,
Jessica
