Dear Momma,
On this date, June 20, 2016, your birthday, I have officially trumped your three other children by writing a public letter praising your parenting skills on a popular website! Just kidding! (not really). Okay, moving on to the real purpose of this letter.
Happy birthday Momma! For the last twenty-three years, you've raised four kids, a marriage, and a loving and caring home so it's only fair you get a little spoiled on your birthday.
Thank you mom, for being the biggest role model in my life thus far, and forevermore. I've watched you and dad fight for us all my life, and I couldn't be more grateful for that ongoing fight you guys put up every day. You fought for my right to academic support even when everyone thought I was fine, you fought for my sport when I thought it wasn't in the budget, you fought for my freedom even when your trust in me was a little shaky. You've fought for things I didn't even realize were fights and I've never thanked you. I know it's been tough and prolonged but you've raised two wonderful and mature adults to do the right thing in life, and are rising two more to do the same. We will never for a second in our lives forget or be ashamed of the things you've done to fight for us.
Thank you for being the pillar that kept this family together during really dark times and continue to do so. I know you've spent countless nights crying and worrying about what was or is to come next and how we'll make it from here but try to never let it show. I'm here to tell you it's okay to let it out because you've been strong for all of us when we needed it.
Thank you for being my most honest and true friend. There isn't a person in the world I would put before you because you dedicated your life to me and the rest of us. You've been so brutally honest with me, it has brought me to tears, but that what I need most of the time. There are jokes only we will ever understand and secrets we've only shared to one another. You've protected me from the hurtful people in my life and even from dad when I was up to no good. You consoled me when I was at wits end and supported me through life-changing decisions. You are forever my best support system and my greatest friend.
Thank you for influencing the woman I am becoming. It's easy to say your kids grew up to be great and it's easy for us to say it's because of how we were raised but it's not too easy to admit what we got from our parents, good and bad. I forever thank you for the ability to question things, the ability to persevere until I get to my goal, and ability to be kind to those who are kind or not so kind. Although I'm not so grateful for your super sensitive nature, I'm glad to have it, it's made my heart one shade closer to gold.
Lastly, I thank you for being the best mom ever, not the best mom you could be. See, the best you could be would just be taking care of the essentials, food, clothes, beds, a healthy living environment. But you do so much more, you laugh at my mistakes and scream at me when you need to, you tell me when my outfit looks tacky and when my makeup's too dark, you trick me for laughs and confuse me for fun and that's being the best mom ever.
So I hope you enjoy your birthday this year, I love you always momma,
GB
