I can remember our last fight, and it was a bad one, but I think maybe it was the one that also forced us to resolve a a lot within our relationship.

You hugged me, cried and told me that we're all each other has, a statement that has rang true the last 24-years of my life. The only thing that has ever been certain is that my mother loves me.

Nothing else is guaranteed, but I know that if I come home crying that you will hold me and tell me I'm strong and worth more than I may feel otherwise. I spent a life without a father, and you always said that you would be both for me. I cried the day I thought about you dying alone and you assured me you didn't need a husband so long as you had me and my brother. You are powerful and anything but co-dependent.

So, thank you. Thank you for telling me I was beautiful when I was being bullied. Thank you for teaching me to be independent and not to let someone control my heart. Thank you for trying to teach me to cook (though I'm still terrible) and for buying me nice clothes each school year that you worked two jobs to pay for so I would fit in with my richer friends.

Thank you for coaching my team when I played on The Sharks and for letting me keep every animal I've ever brought home. Thank you for rubbing my arms every night and for taking care of me through every migraine.

Thank you for worrying about me, even if that means staying up until 2 a.m. when I tend to come home, and for being cautious of every boy I've ever dated. Thank you for being the best Easter Bunny and Santa Claus and for watching Disney movies on repeat just to appease my begging.

And thank you for being supportive when we lost our house, when I felt mistreated by the university I was attending, when I decided to talk to you about some personal issues and for everything since. The last text in my phone from you reads, "I will support whatever decision you make!" And you have. And I know you will.

So, thank you. Thank you for being the best mom I could have and the only dad I'll ever need. Whoever said it takes a village to raise a child clearly never met you. It only took one person to make me strong. It only took you.

I love you, mom. Always.