Starting from the day I was born, my mom has instilled a set of values in me that every mother dreams of giving her daughter. As the years went by, she watched me grow and continued to cultivate these values, making me the women that I am today. She was there for all of the important, and even unimportant moments of my life; it always felt good knowing that when I looked back, she would be right there behind me. Now almost 20 years later, I often catch myself wondering where in the world I would be if I didn't have a mother as wonderful as her? Even if I don't always act like it, I couldn't be more thankful for my mother. She is my biggest fan, my number one go to, and my shoulder to cry on; and I wouldn't want it any other way.

So Mom, in the midst of the storms I've created being your little angsty teen, I'd like to set aside a moment to tell you - and the world - how much you mean to me; and thank you for all the times you picked me up off the ground and loved me enough to clean the cuts and bruises. This one's for you Mom - here's to you.

1. Thank you for being overprotective.

As any good mother is, you're always worried about your children's safety. To be honest, this used to always bother me. And if I'm being really honest, sometimes it still does. But in secret, I really do appreciate your concern for my safety; God knows where I would be without it.

2. Thank you for wanting me to call you every day.

I'm going to be frank, when I first moved away from home, I thought it was a bit silly that you wanted me to call you every day. I never understood why it was so important to you, but I still tried my best to call when I could. Looking back now, I see that it was because you still wanted to know what was going on in my life and you knew I would be dying to see how your day was going as well. To this day, I can't go 24 hours without hearing your voice, and if I could, I wouldn't want to.

3. Thank you for staying on my side, even when we disagree.

There have been plenty of times when we didn't exactly see eye to eye. But instead of battling me over every decision I made, you stuck by my side through everything, regardless of whether I was right or wrong. I know this can be difficult sometimes, especially when my happiness is in question, but I am so grateful that you were willing to let me make my own decisions, only stepping in when I asked for help.

4. Thank you for hating my high school boyfriend.

OK, so this one is self-explanatory but still needs to be taken note of. So for the record, you were right. Mother really does know best and that was a terrible decision. Thank you for seeing that and helping me to understand that the first love doesn't necessarily mean the best love, which leads me to my next point...

5. Thank you for welcoming my college boyfriend into the family with open arms.

I know it's probably hard for both you and Dad to watch your little girl grow up and fall in love, especially when you can see that it's not a great fit. But something changed with this one and I can't explain how thankful I am to know that, for the first time, you see what I do. To me, this means that I finally have my mother's intuition and that I don't have to worry if things will work out. I can just relax and enjoy the time that I have with him.

6. Thank you for all of the "I told you so" moments.

There have been quite a few of these and each one has taught me a lesson I still carry with me to this day. These moments have given me everything I need to know about how the world works and I can't wait to share these lessons with my own daughter. So, thank you for the sass that is undoubtably responsible for my own. I couldn't imagine what my life would be like without it.

7. Thank you for your advice.

You have given me advice on pretty much everything over the years. I know that sometimes you're just making conversation and maybe don't even know you're doing it, but every day you give me a piece of advice that helps me out in some way. Even when it sometimes comes without welcome, I still really am thankful for the wisdom that you have passed to me in my many times of need.

8. Most importantly, thank you for being my mom.

Any woman can be a mother, but it takes one who is truly selfless to be a mom. You must have given up so many things to have my brother and me and words can't describe how thankful I am that you loved us enough to do that. You are truly a champion for dealing with the everyday ordeal of being a parent, especially when you have kids who are as crazy as yours. I love you with all of my heart and thank you for returning that love unconditionally.