I think that, as daughters, sometimes we forget to express our appreciation for our mothers. Many of us butt heads with our moms and quite frequently, there is friction between us. Most of the time it’s over silly things. When you were little, you didn’t like the way she brushed your hair or put it in a ponytail. When you were in middle school, it was because she didn’t let you start wearing make-up yet, even though all of your friends were doing it. In high school, there was just no way she’d let you out of the house wearing that, so you had to go back and change. Whatever the reasons or who was right—you, of course, were always right, as most daughters think—after most frivolous fights, we forgot to tell our moms how much we appreciated how much they looked out for us.
My mom had me when she was 22, which is about two years older than I am now. I was an accident baby, completely unplanned in my mother’s early years. However, she still decided to place her life on hold and keep me. When it came around to April 4, 1996, my mother sat in labor without so much as an aspirin to dull her pain. As a result of the birthing process, she contracted a bacterial blood infection that could have killed her. From there, she put a hold on school and her career. All when she was 22.
When I was around 5, my father decided to pursue his dream and become a pilot. Not to place any sort of blame on my father, but that made my mother’s job even more difficult from then on. For some quick insight, in case you don’t have a family member that’s a pilot, it meant my dad was almost never home for dinner and as a result didn’t really play an equal part in the parenting arena. Since he was gone all the time, she was basically a single mother. She played the roles of both mom and dad, good cop and bad cop. Sometimes it felt like we got into those frivolous fights that we all know much too well as a result. Which, I blamed her for, and I never expressed my appreciation. I wasn’t fair.
Even now, as I’m in college, she makes notable sacrifices for me and does things that only a mother can. For example, the most meaningful one to me recently was right after my last hip surgery. This surgery was much more aggressive than my first, which meant I was in much more pain. She came into my room the first night to check on me, and I was crying, I was in so much pain. In an attempt to make me feel better, she gave up the comfort of sleeping in her own bed and spent the night with me.
As I quickly approach my 20th birthday, I wanted to take stock of all that my mother has done for me and give thanks to her. I encourage you all to do so as well. My mom may not be a superhero written about by Marvel or DC, but she’s definitely one of my most favorite superheroes of all. Thanks, Mom!
