Thank You Letter to My Mom

I found this letter recently and thought I would share it.  I wrote this to my mom back when I was pregnant with kid #1, and thought the world should know what a great lady she is.  Also, it turns out that I can predict the future with frightening accuracy.

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Dear Mom,

        Do you remember that curse that you put on me?  The one where you said that “one day” you hoped I’d have a daughter and she’d be just like me?  Well, I am beginning to fear that that day is dangerously near…

       Before Jace arrives and I can only think to blame you and the curse for my reaping of what I have sowed, I wanted to tell you all of the things that I feel you deserve thanks for.  The things that you may not have even known you were doing for me or dreamed that I would one day appreciate.  This is my Thank You letter for you being such an unbelievably, undeniably, awesome mom.

        Thank you for telling Grandma and Grandpa that you really didn’t think it was in our best interest that they show up every Christmas with three trash bags full of presents each.  Thank you for not paying my cell phone bill in high school, not buying me a car when I turned 16, and not paying the insurance on the one I eventually saved up for and bought.  Thank you for not paying my college tuition or for my apartment rent.  And just when you may be starting to think that I’m being sarcastic - thank you for making me earn the things I had; which in turn taught me to appreciate them even more.  I like to think that by you not spoiling us with “stuff” and “things,” that I, at least, did not turn out to be a monster.  I will not speak for my siblings.  (Just joking...)

       Thank you for teaching me to work things out on my own and to stand up for myself, rather than to blame others or point the finger every time I had a problem.  Thank you for refusing to buy into pity-parties and instead, always encouraging me to find the silver lining, to look at things a different way, or to just push through.  Thank you for not teaching me to respond to ugliness with more ugliness.  Thank you for teaching me that if someone was mean to me, to feel sorry for them, rather than to be like them.

       Thank you for not letting us have friends over until we cleaned our room.  Thank you for going in after us and pulling everything back out from under the bed and making us do it again.  We insisted you were evil, but “Do it right the first time” did eventually stick.

 Thank you for not letting our friends come over if we fought with each other either.  Raven, Josh, and I are probably closer than any other siblings we’ve ever known and we only have you to thank for our special bond and genuine friendship. 

       Thank you for being my biggest cheerleader, even though I rarely made a basket on the basketball court, usually watched the ball sail by me on the volleyball court, and mostly just got beat up by my sensei in Karate class.  Thank you for teaching me that it was okay to fail the first time; as long as that wasn’t the last time I tried. 

        Thank you for making me change my clothes before we left the house when I tried to mimic fashion I’d seen on MTV.  Thank you for not letting me wear blue eye shadow and red lipstick.  Thank you for not letting me date until I was 16.  Thank you for giving me a curfew.  Thank you for always making a point to speak to my friends’ parents when we made plans (even if I did accuse you of being “the only parent on the planet that does this to their child”).  Thanks to your guidance and wisdom, I made it through high school with a clean reputation, no chips on my shoulder, and a strong moral sense of right and wrong, all fully intact…I sincerely apologize for college. 

       Thank you for helping me to become the adult that I am.  I know that it’s got to be weird to see your baby girl grown up, graduated from college, teaching school, married, with a house, two dogs, a cat and a baby girl of her own on the way.  I can’t wait for Jace to get here, and not just for me, but for you - because I can only imagine that after the sweat and tears that you have invested in my childhood, you are greatly looking forward to the sweet revenge of being Grandma!

       I can only hope that I’ve made you proud here and there along the way, and that I can continue to do so.  I am sure that the biggest Thank-yous of all are still to come, as once again (or rather, still) you will offer your guidance and wisdom as I try to figure out being a mom myself.  You’ve always been there, and I know you always will.  Actually, the only thing I could think of that I’d rather be than your daughter, is your grand-daughter, because I am imagining that there will probably be a whole different set of rules for her…

 

Finally, I truly hope, Mom, that I can do you the ultimate justice of being just like you.  My wish is to be as great of a mom to Jace, as you were to me.  I love you.

 Your Grateful Daughter,

 
                         ♥M