Hi Mom,

How was your day? I hope it wasn’t too hard on you, I know how difficult your life can be sometimes. I hope you had a nice, easy-breezy day. But just in case you didn’t, here’s a little something to remind you how much you’re appreciated, and how deeply I love you.

Thank you. Thank you for reading me a story every night of my childhood, and for sitting on the edge of my bed until I fell asleep. Thank you for letting me sleep in your bed when I was sick and for staying up all night watching musicals with me because I didn’t feel well. Thank you for driving me to every dance class, and for attending every single dance competition (because there were many.) Thank you for searching for the girly side of me when I was in my tomboy phase because I so desperately wanted to be like my brothers. Thank you for helping me with my homework when you could, and for critiquing all the work I brought to you. Thank you for the home cooked meals and the holiday traditions. Thank you for everything you did for the boys and me throughout our lives. But mostly, thank you for being my best friend, because you were the best friend I could’ve ever hoped for.

As I grew, I watched so many of my friends drift away from their mothers, or their parents in general. I am so grateful that that never happened to us. I’m grateful because when so many of my friends were struggling through hard times, I always had you for a shoulder to cry on. You taught me that it was OK to be independent and strong, but also to cry if I felt I needed to. You taught me that happy girls are the prettiest, but to not wear my heart on my sleeve.

When other girls my age were fighting and disrespecting their mothers, I was confiding in you with ease. You listened and advised, a skill I developed at a young age. A skill that I attribute to my relationship with you. You taught me how to be a friend, a girlfriend, and a good influence on all those that I cared about, and I made it my business to do so. I saw the kind of friend you were to your own friends, and it taught me how to be a good friend to mine. You were the best possible influence on my brothers and me, and it’s an influence that will stay with me forever.

I love the sound your laugh, I love the way you sing without a care in the world. I love the consistency of your nightly routine, and I love your scent after you get ready for bed. I know that the good majority of the world loves their mothers, whether it’s out of obligation or genuine feeling. But you and I have a very sincere connection, a connection that I’ve noticed does not always exist in other mother-daughter relationships. It’s a connection I intend to make with my own children, and a connection I hope they go on to make with theirs.

So thank you Mom, for everything you have done and will continue to do. Thank you for making me feel unconditionally loved and appreciated. Thank you for trusting my judgement and believing my crazy stories. Thank you for getting me through my nightmares—real and make-believe—and for laughing and smiling with me through the rest of life. Thank you for making me feel beautiful, and for reminding me that the sky isn’t falling when I’m totally convinced it is. But mostly, thank you for being the most wonderful mother imaginable, because I owe all of it to you. Everything I do, is all for you.

With all the love in the world,

Your daughter