Dear Mom,

I don't remember the last time I wrote you a letter, so with that being said I want to say above all else in writing, thank you for ushering me into this wonderful experience we call life! Throughout my somewhat brief time on this planet you have become one of my favorite people and best friends. I must admit though, my adolescent years were somewhat tough on our relationship, do in large majority to my surging teenage hormones, none the less we made it through.(cheers to us, we rock!) I don't think you know how much you mean to me as a simple, "I love you Mom" fails to even scratch the surface of the affinity I hold for you in the depths of my being for you. Without your support, without your guidance, without your love, without your understanding and belief in the person I am, I don't know where I would be in life right now. I witnessed a mother bear, a disciplinary, a teacher, a minister, a hard-worker, a doctor, and a caretaker all in one person. To me you were always a super hero without a weakness and a queen without a crown.

I am thankful and beyond appreciative that you never pushed me in a certain direction and you never forced your opinion on what you thought was best for me. You gave way to my independent nature and allowed me the freedom to be who and what I wanted to be. That is something that I am eternally grateful for. You supported everything I wanted to do, but you would never "push" me and because of that I was able to seemingly shine at everything I did. When you do something because you want to do it, it gives you this feeling of freedom because the ability to choose based upon what you as an individual actually want is something that shapes the very essence of who your are later in life and still to this very day that freedom to choose who I am is something that is very important to me and has led to many of successes. Having the support of the women who gave birth to me in whatever I did, was like having God co-sign for me in every situation. I felt like I couldn't miss; it gave me a firm sense of confidence. As children we look to our parents for approval and you always provided me with that proverbial head nod. The feeling of support you gave me was so important because although I may have been scared taking that leap, hoping to fly, I knew you would always be right there beside me to hold me up with love if I were to fall.

You never judged me ever. You never belittled me or told me I wasn't good enough. In fact you made it prominently know to me that I was a very special, very smart, very talented, very wise person from the earliest moments of my life. You watered all the good seeds within me, those seeds grew into flowers, and those flowers are still blossoming to this day. I would not be anywhere near the man I am today if it were not for you. I've read in many books that as we go through our pre-life planning in "heaven" or whatever you choose to refer to it as, we pick our families; each member specifically and both parties must agree with this arrangement. I am so thankful not only did I pick you, but that you picked me back :)

You have become my best-friend over the years. You have always been my role model and you will continue to be my superhero to infinity and beyond. I am beyond blessed to have spent most of my life in the presence of such a wonderful soul, such a strong women, such a divine role-model, and such a beautiful spirit that words cannot suffice. You are by far my favorite Mom lol.

In closing I want you to know that I wrote this letter to simply thank you and let you know that you did a great job. You are my buddy, you are my pal, and above all else and firstly you are and always will be MOM. I love you and I miss you a lot, but I will see you soon!

Love,

Jared