Dear Mom,

Thank you for everything. You have no idea how much you mean to me, and I am so thankful to have a mom like you. Thank you for all the long, hot days and nights at the ball field. I know you were secretly miserable. Thank you for cheering for me until you lost your voice.Thank you for all those times you calmed me down to keep me from getting thrown out of a game.

Thank you for the thousands of dollars you forked over just so I could play travel ball. Thank you for letting me talk you into getting a tattoo with me. Thank you for being the best pre-calculus teacher. I know you wanted to kill me in class though. Thank you for taking care of me after all of my surgeries when I know it most definitely wasn’t the easiest.

Thank you for all those times we literally laughed until we cried. Thank you for all the nights you waited for me in the living room to make it home. Thank you for all the arguments that taught me that you really are always right. Thank you for teaching me that you are “mean, wicked and evil” only on some days… or maybe the majority of the time.

Thank you for teaching me how to stand my ground and not let others persuade my actions. Thank you for teaching me to never give up, no matter how hard a situation might be. Thank you for teaching me how to love, from loving sports, to loving others, to loving myself.

Thank you for loving me when I was the biggest pain in the butt. Thank you for teaching me how to have a big heart, and that being mean is not the way to go. Thank you for sticking up for me when no one else would.

Thank you for teaching me that I actually have to work hard for something that I want; it's not just handed to me. Thank you for believing in my dreams and pushing me so hard to get there.

Thank you for reminding me that all my worry and stress probably won’t matter tomorrow. Thank you for being blunt with me even when you knew it would hurt my feelings. Thank you for all the FaceTime dates when I was missing you bunches. Thank you for driving 200 miles to my school in the middle of nowhere just to visit with me for a few hours.

Thank you for the memories, the tears, the laughs, the smiles. You have given me everything I have ever needed in life. Thank you for molding me into the person I am today. Thank you for being you, and for loving me unconditionally. Thank you for being the best mom I could ever ask for. But most importantly, I thank God for blessing me with a mom like you.

Love always,

Your baby girl.