Aren’t parents such a pain in the butt? I used to think that all the time, until one day this past summer...

I was an instructor at a softball skills camp and that’s where it hit me. One afternoon when camp was over, I raced home, ran and right up to my parents and said, “Thank you for putting up with me. Thank you for putting up with all of the times I didn’t listen to you, all of the times I thought I was right, as a 13 year old, and all of the times that you just let me go 1000 miles per hour and fall on my ass; I needed those. Thank you so much.”

Whatever you are doing right now, stop; pull out your phone and text your parents.

Tell them thank you for everything that they have done for you and how much you love them.

They may respond, “What did you do and how much is it going to cost me?”, but that’s okay.

My parents are everything to me. They raised me to be independent, curious, determined, outspoken, kind, respectful, and humble. My hope is that one day I raise my children to be the same way. Sitting here now, I wish I had paid more attention to how they raised me as I was growing up. I could never say thank you enough to these two people who shaped my sister and I into the people we are today.

Thank you dad:

1. For giving me my best friend.

Not that you really had anything to do with it, but twins run on your side of the family, us being the sixth set; so thanks.

2. For being my coach.

For teaching me how to hold a bat and throw a ball. Thank you for teaching me that chin music is a thing. Thanks for making me look like a real ball player: baseball pants down to my ankles, like a baseball player; belt, like a baseball player; visor, because softball players wore visors and not hats, at age 5.

Look Good. Feel Good. Play Good. Right?

3. For being hard on me.

For expecting more of me than I even expect of myself. You taught me to never settle and always want to get better, to be the best that I can be. Thank you for having such high expectations of Raeann and I. We wouldn’t be where we are today without them.

4. For being the pack mule.

From carrying softball bags, coolers full of food to feed a small army every single weekend over the summer, and even giant stuffed animals at Hershey Park, you were always good at holding whatever Raeann and I needed you to while we went out in to the world and took it by storm.

5. For saying yes when mom said no.

Wait: that never happened...

6. For being my dad.

And embracing the good, bad, and ugly that comes with it with open arms (and an open wallet).

Thank you mom:

1. For figuring out how to raise two babies at once.

While I’m sure it was a team effort, everyone knows it was all you.

2. For teaching me that B’s were not acceptable to bring home on a report card.

Thank you for making National Honor Society a requirement before I graduated high school. Thank you for being disappointed in me in third grade when I brought home a D on my math test, because this taught me to expect more of myself in all aspects of my life.

You taught me self-discipline that has carried me through my entire academic career and even into college. C’s don’t get degrees in your household.

3. For cooking dinner.

Because we definitely know that dad wasn’t going to do it. Thank you for encouraging/enforcing family dinners. Thank you for gathering the entire family together at the end of the day and asking how our days were.

I never realized something so simple could mean so much.

4. For being a shoulder to cry on.

Those teenage years were full of hurt and heartbreak. Thank you for being there for every tear that fell.

5. For getting Raeann and I into music.

So that we could try something different, explore another creative outlet.

Thank you for driving me to all of those rehearsals at church; choir, piano, and hand bells. Thank you for encouraging me to be in the musicals in middle school. Thank you for being okay with hearing the piano in the dining room play the same songs and the wrong notes over and over and over again.

6. For being my mom.

You are the strongest woman I know. From wanting to write like you did when I was a 5 year old little girl, to wanting you to be there the day I pick out my wedding dress, not a day goes by that I’m not thankful for every opportunity and passion you have allowed me to pursue. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

My parents are awesome; they love my sister and I unconditionally. They let Raeann and I pursue our passions to the fullest. They are my heroes. They are my rock, my strength, and my home.

Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do for Raeann and I. I love you.