If we're being completely honest, one day of the year to celebrate Mothers isn't nearly enough, and I think it's nearly impossible to put into words how grateful I am for mine, but here is my best attempt.
Going away to college really showed me how much love and appreciation I have for our family. I've never encountered a family quite like ours, but I wouldn't change ours for the world. None of us would be the people we are today if it weren't for you.
Thank you for all the endless love you give me. Thank you for picking me up from EVERY sleepover until about the age of 14 because I had anxieties I didn't know how to overcome. Thank you for helping me overcome them. Thank you for teaching me how to be strong, and helping me understand you don't have to be strong all the time.
Thank you for being the loudest cheer in the crowd and dedicating almost every weekend to my never ending dance competitions. Thank you for supporting me in doing what I love even though I yelled at you every time my fake eyelashes and bun weren't perfect. Thank you for taking me to what felt like a million different doctors to fix my hip, so I wouldn't have to give up dancing forever. Thank you for believing in me when I didn't really even believe in myself.
Thank you for always listening to me. You've helped me through absolutely everything whether it was 12 year old me not making the middle school volleyball team, to my first real heartbreak. And you were right, I would be okay. I was so convinced these things were the end of the world, thank you for promising me they weren't.
I will never forget this important quote you shared with me. "People may not remember what you said or what you did, but what they will remember is how you made them feel." I've never loved a quote more and I've never found another one to be as true as that one. Thank you for teaching me that at the end of the day, what really matters is how you make people feel. That being kind and loving others is more important than the way you look, what you wear, what you have and don't have. (Although we all know what I wore was super important after those 40% off Justice coupons arrived in the mail!!!)
As I grow older I've started to realize how much you actually sacrifice for me. How much you sacrifice for our whole family, thank you for all that you do for us.
Going away to college also made me realize how much you do for me. Yes, I called you the first time I did laundry because I didn't know exactly where the soap went, or how long you usually heat up tea for...Crazy as it sounds there were nights I'd sit in my quiet dorm and miss you yelling at me from the kitchen to put my plate in the dishwasher. You would think at 18 years old I would finally figure out how to do that.
One day out of the year is simply not enough to give you the appreciation you deserve. I thank you immensely, Mom, and I love you.
Happy Mother's Day.