Recently, I read an article entitled "Thank You, Mom, For Not Being My Best Friend" where the author said that "We're not given mothers to be our best friends, we're given mothers to teach us, raise us, and discipline us." But why can't a mother be both a best friend and a disciplined, teaching, parental figure? Everything she lists- "thank you for saying the things I need to hear", "for letting me... and sometimes making me... fight my own battles", etc- my mother has done for me, regardless of the fact that she is my best friend.

I'm not afraid to say it- my mom is my best friend. We spend more time with each other than we do with anyone else, and we wouldn't want it any other way. We talk about anything and everything, we shop and get our nails done together, and we have no secrets. Having my mom play the role of my best friend has not made her any less of a mom. I didn't lose discipline just because we (almost) never feuded throughout my teen years because we were best friends. We spent so much time together that I've always understood what was expected of me- discipline wasn't forgottenbecause I was her best friend.Most of the time, it was unnecessary, and when it was necessary, it was given. She yelled when I broke my brother's PlayStation. She put me in time out when I broke the rules. I learned my lessons.

My mother makes parenting decisions based on her maternal instincts, not on the fact that I'm her best friend. I have the same privileges any other kid would have. Being close with me hasn't clouded her judgement. If anything, it's made it clearer- her being my best friend has given her the ability to understand me better than any one of my friends ever could. She knows me and knows how to parent me the way that's most effective. She tells me what I need to hear, and when I ask why, she never replies with "That's what best friends are for," she replies with "I'm your mother, and if I can't be honest with you, no one can!"

My mom and I have been best friends for as long as I can remember, but she's raised me better than any other parent could. How does being best friends change the way she would have raised me? She is first and foremost a parent, as she'll always be, and being best friends has not affected the way I've been raised. I receive gifts every Christmas because I'm a good child, not because, as her best friend, I give her good advice on what to wear. Our family goes on vacations every year to spend time with each other, not as a girl's trip. I receive punishments when I do wrong and accolades when I do right, and that's the way it's always been.

My mother teaches me life lessons every day and has been my idol my entire life. That hasn't been compromised by the fact that we go to the movies and get our nails done and talk about boys. She is strong and loving but also tough and disciplining, and being my best friend hasn't affected her parenting skills at all. In my opinion, a girl needs a close relationship with her mom just as much as she needs her to discipline her.

So, thank you, Mom, for being my best friend. Don't listen to anyone who tells you you can't be both.