When I was 8 years old my mother passed away. My dad remarried two years later to a lovely woman. I can still remember my dad asking me if it was alright for him to propose. I, of course, said yes. My stepmother and I don't always get along, but in what reality do parents and their children always get along? My stepmom has still been there for me in ways that my mother never was and will not be able to in the future. She has been there whenever I need her. She has been there for me when I was sick, scared, and sad.

My stepmom is an incredible person and I want to tell her all the things that I know and love about her because I know I don't say it enough. My stepmom is beautiful and kind. She is intelligent and passionate. I love when she sings and when she laughs. I love her cooking and her smile. I love the voices she makes when she plays with my brother. I love the hugs she gives. The thing I love the most about her is that she's mine. My stepmom is mine to love and share my life with. Her being my stepmom is one of the most incredible things about her.

I think that the reason the word step is placed before parent is because these wonderful people have to take a big step in their life to not only accept a spouse into their lives, but a child as well. My stepmom did that for me. I was a sad, scared little girl who was without a mother and she accepted me into her life. She could've run as soon as my dad said he had me, but she didn't.

Since she the day she accepted me into her life there have been ups and downs. We have had our issues, as most parent/child relationships do, but she has still been there. She has been there through every birthday, Christmas, Easter, band concert, etc. She was there when I graduated high school, and she will be there when I graduate college. No matter what I've done or how much I've messed up, she has not given up on me.

I call my stepmom by her first name. This is what I've done since the first day I met her. Unfortunately, as humans, we are creatures of habit and this is a habit that I wish I could break. I long to call my stepmom just mom, she has more than earned it. I have tried to make the word come off my tongue many times, but each time I have failed. I envy the ease in which my brother calls her mom and hope someday I can too. My stepmom is my mom no matter what my birth certificate says. I will always love my mother who gave birth to me and raised me for eight years, but that doesn't mean I can't love the other woman who mothers me. Nora, I hope you know just how much I love you and how much you mean to me.

To all the people out there with stepparents, let your parent know how much they mean to you.