Dear Mom (because yes, that is your contact in my phone),

Thank you for always taking care of us over the years. We may not have always agreed with what you were saying or wanted to listen to you, but thank you for being stubborn enough to get your point across.

Thank you for always letting us assume you were driving, even on the longer road trips. While half of the reason was because you didn't trust any of our driving skills, we still appreciated it. Whether you got a text from us saying "What time are you picking us up?" or "Can you drive, we are almost there?" you never turned down the opportunity to chauffeur us around. You even skipped school to take us to doctors appointments, especially when I was scared to get my shots (you didn't hold my hand, but waiting in the waiting room still meant a lot). Your rides will forever be appreciated, and I don't know how I will manage driving myself places in college.

Thank you for always cooking, even when you came over to my house. Whether it was 2 a.m. and we were craving dessert, or if it was dinner time and none of us had eaten, you were always the first one in the kitchen. The endless pasta meals cooked for us were always delicious and forever engraved in my stomach. The girls on your hall are lucky to have you sharing a kitchen with them, and feel free to ship me some homemade meals whenever you cook.

Thank you for eventually forcing us to get our schoolwork done... even if it was 4 a.m. and we had watched two movies to procrastinate the process. As much as we tried to figure out how important doing our Lit responses actually was, and how much our grade would suffer if we didn't turn them in, you saved us. Looking back now, our grades truly would have suffered with all of those zero test grades. Feel free to call us in the middle of the night at college to make sure we are actually getting our work done.

Thank you for the endless hours you let me cry in your lap. Whether it was over boys, school, or just a needed cry, I could always count on your lap as a resting place. You would know when I walked into your house with a cake and a spoon that it was going to be a long night, and you were always prepared for that. First you would threaten to beat someone up, and then you would grab a spoon and help eat the cake. So also, thanks for not letting me eat the whole cake on my own. As much of an ugly face you claim I make when I cry, I will always appreciate having someone to be there with me.

Thank you for telling us we when we were being dumb, and making it clear to us that we were really being dumb. Sometimes it took you not talking to us for weeks to get the point across, but eventually we listened, and eventually we admitted you were right. So thank you for not being a softy, and forcing us to listen to you because we realize now it was all for the better.

So as we go our separate ways to college, you will still be the mom of the friend group, and you will never be replaced because no one else will ever do what you have done for us the past years. The countless safe rides, the food, the shoulder to cry on, and keeping us out of jail helped us greatly get to this next chapter in our lives.

So thanks, Mom, and please continue to check in on us on a weekly basis.

We love you!