Hey mom! Thank You!

On Aug. 23, I received a call around 7 p.m. I was doing the thing my mom and I are prone to do: Over-organizing before school the next day. Anyway, Dad started to calmly explain what happened. I just could not fathom it, to be quite honest. My mom had a sporadic heart attack and passed away at the age of 44. This is the last thing any 20-year-old college student expects to disrupt life.

I started to think and it made me realize a lot. My mom will not be there. She will not be there for my engagement, picking out a wedding dress, the moment I freak about being pregnant, or at the doctor when my first child is born. She will not see me graduate, help decorate my first home, or panic with me about a new/first time job. She will not be there to bake on Thanksgiving, complain about how Dad puts lights on the tree around Christmas, go shopping with because that’s how we bond, or listen to my stress over how many things I am putting myself through this semester.

But then I decided to look at the glass half-full, as difficult as that is, and it made me realize how many things I have to be thankful for. The amount of things my mother taught me outweigh the things she might be missing in my future. You see the amount of times we take the little things for granted started to weigh heavy on me. So here are four things you should thank your mom for.

1. She is your best listener.

From the age of 4 when you complained about the clothes for your Polly Pocket to when finding out what your major should be in college, my mom was the first person I ran towards. Somehow, moms are encrypted with a heart so loving and caring that no matter what complaint there is, or problem that needs to be solved, they have the best advice and the best set of ears to hear. Your mom knows you better than anyone. And I didn’t quite realize that until later on.

2. She is your personal shopping assistant.

I don’t know about you but my mom and I never missed a chance for a good deal or sale. Again, moms have a “super power” of knowing what should and shouldn’t be a closet necessity. I never doubted my mother’s opinion. If it was not for her, I’m not sure what crazy, bad fashion people would have to deal with on the daily.

3. She builds your self-esteem.

I suffer from severe depression; I cannot begin to express the amount of boost my mother gave me about my appearance, goals, ambitions, passions, etc. I never had to ask. She would just know that I was in need of a boost and never let me forget how special and talented I am. You do not realize how much that impacts you.

4. She always has you back.

Whether you thought you were right or actually were right, you mom would never admit it in front of anyone. Behind closed doors she might have mentioned a different way to handle it, but in public she was your biggest cheerleader and in your corner.

You do not realize how much these things mean until you do not have them to rely on. I challenge every reader to not wait until Mother’s Day to show you care. Everyday is a blessing and should be treated as such. Let the mother figure in your life know that.