Mom,

I quite literally don't know where to begin. I thought about this letter a lot and what I wanted to say and to be honest the contents of it still cannot exhibit the amount of love and appreciation I have for you. Having you as my mom has single-handedly made my life as great as it is. I know when I was younger I definitely put you through it at times, not wanting to talk to you about certain things and being distant and cold, but there has never been a singular moment where I have not appreciated you for everything you have done for me.

Thank you for always being supportive of the decisions I make. I know it probably wasn't easy to agree to let me move across the country to study music, but the support that you have shown me through this endeavor and all others ones throughout my life, highly contribute to the reason why I am able to do so well at the things I set my mind to. Some parents tend to shut down their children's dreams, even if it subconsciously so that their children have lives that their parents deem to be less hard or they shove their own dreams down their child's throat in hopes that their child will have the life that they wanted for themselves. Thank you for not doing this and allowing me to create my own path of lessons, triumphs, and mistakes.

Thank you for always picking up the phone. I know that sometimes I call or text at ridiculous hours of the night, but I just wanted to say thanks for picking up anyway. Knowing that I always have a lifeline when things are going poorly, I'm too in my own head, or I just need to talk something out has been really reassuring in times where I'm experiencing overwhelming levels of stress. You have a way of putting things into perspective without being condescending that has always really helped me with understanding what and what not to prioritize.

I know I tell you I appreciate you a lot when you do my laundry or pay for new earbuds, but I need you to know that I really do. I have a very good understanding of what life would look like without you as my mom and I never want to experience that. Thank you for driving me back and forth to school a thousand times, for waiting in the parking lot of after school activities until I was ready to go, for funding all of my dreams and aspirations, for understanding that despite how great my life is I have times that aren't as great, for making dinner after a long day at work, for sending notes in my lunch every day for twelve years, for flying across the country to see me, for accepting me for who I am, and for being not only my mom but my best friend.

I love you more than words can describe and I am grateful every day that I get to call you my mom. I hope you have a great Mother's Day.

Love, Your Daughter