Dear Mom,

Since I have been in college, I find myself constantly missing you and needing you more than ever. You always know what to say and what is best for me. There are so many things I could thank you for, but I'll start here:

Thanks for always being there for me.

No matter what happens I know I can always count on you to be there for me. I know that if I ever need something, you’ll drop whatever you’re doing for me, and whenever I need you, you’ll be there, even if it’s two in the morning. I love that I can come to you with anything and everything and that I know you’ll listen to me, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.

Thanks for being my biggest fan.

Ever since I was a little girl you haven’t missed anything. You’ve been at every assembly, awards ceremony, recital, competition, banquet, and more. I know that no matter what, I can always count on you to be there, and that is honestly one of the best feelings in the world.

Thanks for letting me play the sports I loved.

From driving me to every practice, performance, and competition to the hours you've spent helping me get ready. Not to mention the amount of money you have spent on traveling, privates, tuition, etc. You've invested so much into my sports just to make me happy, because I loved it. I can't say thank you enough, because I don't know what my life would have been like without spending my life doing the sports I loved. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thanks for always telling me the truth.

Even if I don’t want to hear the truth, I know that you know what's best and you always make sure that I know that. I know that I can always come to you for advice, because no matter what, you will tell me exactly how it is and you won’t sugar-coat anything. I want you to know that I am thankful for that (even if at the time the truth upsets me).

Thanks for putting up with my attitude.

I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.

Thanks for letting me just be a teenager.

Throughout high school, almost all of my friends had jobs or were looking for jobs, but you didn’t want me to even think about getting a job. You wanted me to be a teenager as long as possible and wanted me to focus on school and sports. I can’t thank you enough for that. I didn’t get a job until this past year when I actually wanted to and can confidently say that I absolutely love what I do. So, thank you for letting me be a teenager as long as you could, because (as much as I love what I do) all I do is work now. I work late nights, early mornings, and long afternoons all while going to school full-time. So thank you again for not having me get a job and letting me focus on school and sports in high school, mom.

Thank you for documenting (basically) my whole life

Thank you for taking a million photos of everything I did throughout the past 19 years (even when I didn’t want to take any pictures). Thanks for sitting front and center at every performance, recital, assembly, and competition. Oh, and thank you for making dad record every performance, recital, and competition too (so that you could take pictures). Looking back at all of those pictures and recordings, I am so thankful for those memories, so thank you.

Thanks for being a best friend.

I am so lucky to be able to say that my mom is one of my best friends. You are my mom, so you have to punish me sometimes (but I’m basically a perfect daughter, so you don’t really have to worry about that), but let's be honest, our relationship is not your typical “mother-daughter” relationship. I treat you like you are one of my best friends and I also care about what you think more than you know. Sometimes when we talk on the phone, Facetime, text, or are commenting back and forth on Facebook/Instagram, my friends ask me, “did you really just say that to your mom,” and I answer them with “yes, I tell my mom everything” (even if sometimes, you don’t want to know what I am telling you).

So, thanks mom. Thanks for everything you do for me. I am so beyond thankful to be able to call you my mom. I love you more than you know and hope I was able to tell you just how thankful I am for you with this article.

I love you to the moon and back.

Love,

Your Daughter.