Thank You, Mom! Love, Your Student-Athlete

Mother's Day is soon approaching. That means that this week is a time to thank our mothers, grandmothers or the very special women in our lives for putting up with our crazy selves.

Our moms are awesome! Let's be honest, they put up with our crap way past when other people would have said, "Sit down and shut up!" As a student-athlete, I feel like I owe my mother a special kind of thank you because she has given up and done so much for me to succeed in my sport, in my education and in my life.

As student-athletes, we know our moms have been and always will be our biggest supporters, no matter how the game goes. They have been with us through the good ol' tee-ball and YMCA soccer days, when we had more fun playing in the mud and grass than actually playing the sport. They have been with us through heartbreaking losses and overtime wins. They have been by our side as we debated whether to continue to play sports in high school or college, and they made sure they attended every game they could get to because they just loved watching us compete.

So thank you, Mom, for taking off work to come to my sporting events, even if I did not get to play that much. Thank you, Mom, for staying up until three in the morning with me to make sure the pain meds kicked in for the broken collar bone. Thank you, Mom, for traveling halfway across the country in a snowstorm with my team for a showcase tournament. Thank you, Mom, for holding my hand while the doctor put on the third cast that year (again, Ma, I'm really sorry about this). Thank you, Mom, for getting up at five in the morning to drive me to optional morning practices. Thank you for all the money you dished out for sports camp and sporting equipment … and hospital bills.

Thank you, Mom, for putting up with my crap after a tough loss. Thank you, Mom, for laying down the law about going out on a Friday night when I had a game Saturday morning. Thank you, Mom, for helping me on the countless hours of homework I struggled to finish at one in the morning. And Mom, this is a big one, thank you for letting me take a mental health day when I was just not having it that day. Finally, thank you, Mom, for everything else I missed but know you do for me on an everyday basis.

Thank you to all the moms that weren’t even my mom who brought everyone snacks at the end of the game. Thank you to my friends' moms for always being there and being my cheerleaders when my mom could not make it to the game that day. Thank you to my second mom, the mom that has adopted me into her family, for always treating me like your kid and welcoming me with open arms. You fantastic women also deserve a special kind of thank you. Student-athletes everywhere may have found you in grade school, high school or even college, but you will always hold a special place in our hearts. We appreciate you more than you may ever know.

So to all the moms that have a child who is a student-athlete, this one goes out to you. You deserve a special kind of thank you for being our chauffeur, for putting up with our moodiness after long workouts, for always having a chocolate milk in hand and for never giving up on us, even when we wanted to give up on ourselves. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mom. You deserve a world of applause and the biggest bear hug I have to offer.

Happy Mother’s Day!