Live. Laugh. Smile. Call your mother.

Those words decorated four white vases that I woke up to every morning. Ironically enough, those were also the words I read every time I would lie in bed after fighting with my mother.

My mother and I have always been close; she’s always been there for me and she’s always the one I go to whenever I need anything. I tell her everything from boys to fights to what I plan on doing three weeks from now. Even though we’ve always been close, we’ve always fought a lot, too. We’re very different from one another – a fact that can be seen (or heard) quite easily if you put us both in a room for too long.

Being away from her (and my dad and brother…) is possibly the hardest thing I have ever done and although I love it, I can’t wait to move back home and live close to my mom again.

Still, the worst part about being away is not having your mom to go to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are times when you just need her, like...

When you get sick

Quite possibly the number one moment when you need and most definitely want your mother. She always knows what you should take, what you can eat, what you can drink, how long you should stay in bed for, and the list goes on and on.

When you get drunk

Who else is going to hold your hair back while you throw up without judging you for the rest of eternity, and offer to take care of you after that?

When you get into a fight with your best friend/boyfriend

She’ll tell you when you’re wrong and she’ll show you how to make it right.

When you want to vent about stupid people in your classes

She’ll listen. She’ll tell you you’re being irrational. She’ll tell you about that one time something like that happened to her. She’ll tell you that in the real world you can’t just yell at people unless you want to get fired. But most importantly, she’ll listen.

When you get your heart broken

She’ll hold you. She’ll cry with you. She’ll b*tch about him with you. She’ll agree with everything you say and then she’ll go out with you to buy an incredible new outfit and take you to get your hair and nails done.

When you're homesick

Cause sometimes you miss being yelled at because she forgot to take the cake out of the oven…

When you have to get ready for a formal/dance/date

Your mom is probably the one person who will be completely honest with you about absolutely everything. Yes, your butt does look big in that dress, and no, he won’t know the difference between “Really Red” nails and “Jolly Apple Red.”

When you just need someone to hold you and tell you everything is going to be OK - Always. Always. Always. Always. Always. When everything goes wrong your mom will always know how to make everything better.

Love you, Momma