Mom,

Thank you for believing in me on days that I didn’t believe in myself.

No matter how many mistakes I make. No matter how many times I come to you feeling like I’ve made a huge mess of things, you always have this unwavering confidence in me. You have always seen the potential in me to do great things and to be great, even when I didn’t see it.

Thank you for showing me what selfless love looks like.

You may not think that I noticed, and that may be partially my fault for not thanking you enough. But, thank you for always putting our family first.

Thank you, not only for working all day but for being on-call all hours of the day and night for us for when our school projects weren’t finished or we were having a melt-down about a friend at school or a bad hair-cut.

No matter how tired you were, you always made time for us.

Thank you for showing me how to handle hardship with grace.

Life has been kind to us, but it has also thrown in some cruel curve-balls. Thank you for never giving up on this family. Thank you for showing us that the world can be crumbling around us, but we can still hold on to hope and one another.

Thank you for putting on a brave face for us when we were scared and uncertain, even though I know you were just as scared. And, thank you for being the glue that kept everything together when we all felt like falling apart.

Thank you for reminding me to find the humor in life.

Thank you for reminding me not to take life or myself too seriously when things inevitably go wrong.

Thank you for showing me that despair isn’t the only way to get through the darkness: that after the grief, we can move forward and find the joy again. Your humor got us through a lot of difficult times and helped teach me to find the hope in life’s struggles and to always seek perspective.

Thank you for being my Mom and best friend.

Thank you for raising me to know the importance of communication in relationships. Thank you for listening to me go on and on about the same boy over and over. Thank you for holding temporary grudges against the people I was mad at and quickly pushing that to the side when we made up the next week.

Thank you for making it a top priority to get to know me for who I am and for never asking me to be anything but myself. Thank you for always making me feel like I was enough.

Thank you for showing me what kind of woman I want to be.

Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for seeing the potential in me, even when I didn’t see it. Thank you for always being there and for helping me through each new milestone. Thank you for showing me how to treat people and how to love others.

Thank you for being the woman, the wife, and the mother that I will always strive to be