When was in high school, I begged you to let me go out past 9 p.m. I pleaded to be able to go on a date, to go to parties, to be a “normal” teenager. You said no. Every. Single. Time.
But now, mom, I understand. You were trying to stop me from getting hurt. You didn’t want to see your daughter get her heart broken by a boy at the fragile age of fifteen. You didn’t want to see me stumbling home wasted every weekend night. You knew I was better than that.
All you wanted for me was success. The biggest rule in the house was to keep my grades up, and you wanted nothing more than for me to have a good education. You barely let me skip classes; you made sure I was doing my homework every night instead of going to God knows where with God knows who, and I thank you for that.
I’m so sorry for yelling at you so many times, Mom. I’m sorry for calling you crazy. I’m sorry for blaming you for my problems. I’m sorry I broke your heart. But most of all, I’m sorry for bringing you the pain that you tried to prevent from me.
I remember a few words you told me when I was 16-years-old. “I just want you to have a better life than I had.” You were trying to help me. You tried to prevent me from making the same mistakes you made in life. You did nothing but try to make me a smart, independent woman. Although I tried to go against your words and follow my friends, you still had hope that I would wake up and snap out of it.
And I did, thanks to you. Thank you for never giving up on me. Thank you for pushing me past my limits, and for making me stay home and study instead of letting me go out to all the parties. Thank you for helping me become the woman I am today.
Now that a few years have passed and I’m starting to live on my own, I realized how right you were about life. Without you and your words of encouragement, I wouldn’t be who I am now. I may have slipped up along the way, but you helped me get back on my feet and focus on what’s really important.
Although we still bicker from time to time, just know that I appreciate you and I love you so much. There isn’t a single mother in the world that could match you. I used to get jealous when all of my friends’ moms would let them do as they please, but now I feel so blessed to have a mother that watched me. You showed me you cared, you wanted your little girl to grow up and be somebody in this world. I hope one day when I have children that I’m as great of a mother as you are.
Thank you, mom. I love you.
Love,
Your Daughter
