Of all the destinies in the universe, I fell under the love of my parents. Quite literally, I owe them my life, but I'm not sure how to go about giving that, so for now, here is a letter expressing my gratitude.
From the early days, I was a brat. I mean literally. I was the first child too, so not only were my mom and dad facing parenthood for the first time, they had to research how to deal with difficult children. I'm not making this up. As often as I would have my happy days, I would have days were nothing made me happy or, in fact, just made me angry for whatever reason. And for that, I thank you for dealing with my early mood swings and for always allowing me to just be a kid.
Then came younger sibling number one, and the jealousy kicked in. My brother was cute at first, before he could walk and talk. And then I despised him for taking attention away from perfect me and for always stealing my toys, even if I hadn't touched them in years. And then came younger sibling number two. This time, the jealousy wasn't so bad. In fact, I kind of like my sister, but having to help change diapers for the second was getting old by the age of 10 or 11. So for that, I thank you for giving me the gift of siblings, for dealing with our sibling rivalries, and teaching me responsibilities.
By my teenage years, I was a hot mess. From depressed to over hyper, whatever teenage hormones were thrown at me, you two had to deal with them as well, as if going through your own teenage years wasn't bad enough. So for that, thank you for being my worst enemy, and for reminding me that there are bigger things in life than high school and all the little dramas that come with it.
And then there is the beloved college. I'm just going to thank you up front for helping me pay my way through the tuition. But through this, I have to stand on my own for the first time, I mean, really on my own. I have always been an independent person, but I'm not ashamed to call my mom and dad (okay, usually my mom) at one in the morning and cry about how I haven't made friends yet or that I'm going to work at a Dunkin' Donuts for the rest of my life. But through all this, you both taught me to dream big, to not sweat the small stuff, to let it go and take it all in. You taught me that friends come and go, and that's all right. You taught me that travel is the greatest experience there is, next to love. You have taught me that my parents will always be my parents, even when I'm 90 and you guys are 120. So thank you for letting me be a Daddy's girl and for having my mom as my best friend.
