Dear Mom,
The past four months being at home have been great, really. All the home cooked meals and fresh laundry have been pretty cool. Sadly, it’s time for my long journey back to campus. So what do I have to say now that my time at home is over, once again?
Thank you . . . for everything.
Things are changing as I get older, and it hasn’t been an easy transition for either of us. I’m never home and when I am, I’m sleeping. You still keep a plate of dinner in the fridge for me though, and you still occasionally make my bed because it drives you nuts that I don’t like it made. Just because I’m getting older doesn’t mean that you’ll stop mothering me, much to my dismay. So, I will inevitably get annoyed when you insist that I be home at a certain time or tell me I can’t leave the house at 1am for Taco Bell. You’re doing it because you’re a mom, and I’m your baby. Your baby that is now taller than you and can drive a car a lot better than you. I don’t feel like a baby, but I can see how you feel that I am.
A lot of things have become more time consuming for me like friends, having a boyfriend, having a job, etc. So I feel like it may seem like I don’t care about the things that go on at home anymore, but I can assure you that I do. I like hearing about all of the things you got couponing and I want to know how your day has been. You’re constantly on the go, so by the time I get home at night, you’re usually ready to go to bed. A lot of times, you’re still on the couch actually. You’re dead asleep and snoring, but you’re still on the couch to make sure I got home safe. Sometimes though, you surprise me. You’ll stay up (or try to), and we watch a movie that we’ve seen a million times already. Not because we’re both dying to watch a movie, but because you’re trying to squeeze in bonding time even though you’re dead tired. I take these little movie nights for granted during the summer, but they’re the one thing I miss when I’m having a bad day at school.
That’s where I’m really going with this letter –school. I go back in just a few short days. Three hours doesn’t seem like a far distance but that’s a full tank of gas and six hours in the car altogether. As much as I’d like to come home for dinner every night, I’ll be home about once a month, if that. I know that you worry about me while I’m gone. You worry about if I’m eating enough, if I got home from that party safe, if I’m keeping up on assignments . . . the list is endless really. All you do is worry, and u don’t think you’ll ever stop. It’s another one of those mom things, like making my bed out of annoyance. I know that nothing I say or do can stop you from worrying. However, do you ever stop to think who raised me? You. It was all you, mom. You were the one who ran me to ballet practice after work. You were the one who helped me with my homework at the kitchen table. You were the one who always made sure my room was the first room that was finished when we moved into a new house. You always made sure I was safe, and you always made sure I was happy. I have been raised by the best. I know right from wrong, I know the difference between good and bad. Yeah, I’m going to mess up along the way, but you’ll be there for advice when I do. So please mom, worry a little less. You’ve done everything you can, and now it’s my time to take the reins. Please know that you’ve done a great job – a phenomenal job in fact. So breathe, mom. Thank you for the past 19 years of unconditional love and amazing lasagna. I’ll be home before you even know it.
Love Always,
Your college bound daughter
