dear mom...

To my dearest mother on Mother’s Day,

Thank you mom for all that you do for me each day and for all that you have taught me over years. Thank you for bringing me into this world - for loving me, guiding me, and always believing in me. Thank you for providing us a home filled with warmth, love, and laughter. Thank you for teaching me that laughter is the best medicine and that it’s okay to cry. For saying prayers with me each night as a child and setting the foundation for a lifelong relationship with God. 

Thank you for playing pretend, dress up, and Barbies with me, and for putting up with me when I “sassed” you.  Thank you for dressing us up in matching outfits, although embarassing it makes for a good laugh when looking back on old pictures. Thank you for coming to my dance recitals and parent teacher conferences and buying me a new lunch box each year for school. For all of the joy filled Christmas mornings, candy filled Easter baskets, and over the top birthday parties. 

Thank you for making me write endless thank you notes and instilling in me all of the southern charms that I have come to appreciate. For helping me to remember who I am and where I came from and reminding me that “you are the company you keep” … you were right. Thank you for sticking to your theory that “one day you’ll understand” and “one day you’ll thank me” because yes, I do thank you for caring enough to not let me run around town like a wild-child. I also thank you for trusting me enough to let me get in a little trouble every now and then and letting me learn my own lessons, even the ones that I had to learn the hard way.

Thank you for instilling in me your love of children, pugs, gardenias, Rod Stewart, Al Green, and petifores. Thank you for the countless birthday parties, family vacations, and summer memories full of running through sprinklers and homegrown tomato sandwiches. For welcoming my friends into our home and making sleepovers at my house the best! 

Thank you for being silly and not taking life too seriously. For giving me a sense of humor and self confidence. Thank you for teaching me to always make more than enough at a party, to keep sweet tea in the refrigerator at all times, and that Saturday morning cleaning requires a great playlist. Thank you for redecorating my bedroom with me countless times and supporting my dream to be an interior designer. 

Thank you for showing me what it means to love your children no.matter.what. Thank you for being my best friend, my mentor, my roommate, and my beautiful mother. I love you. 

Happy Mother’s Day.