An Open Letter to my Mom

Hi Mama,

I’m writing this because I need you to know how appreciated you are. And so every time you feel under appreciated, misunderstood, or defeated, you can come back here and be reminded how much of a kick ass mom you really are.

First of all, you literally gave me life. And I know I don’t need to remind you that–I’m pretty sure you were there. You were the first person to ever hold me in your arms, and I think it’s the coolest thing that you knew me before anyone else did. You looked into my eyes and you had faith in me–that I would grow up to become someone wonderful and capable of changing the world.

And then I grew up a bit, and I was clumsy and crazy, but you always knew the words to say to make me feel better. The band-aids you put on my scrapes were always a little bit more magical than just any normal band-aids. I’m so grateful that you let me be a child though. You let me explore, even if it meant that I was bound to fall down. You let me pick myself back up and try again. You let me play in the mud and make mud pies. You let me climb trees, and then you let me figure out how to get myself back down–we both knew it wasn’t gonna end without a bandaid. But you believed in me. You had faith in me–that I would grow to learn the best ways to climb down from trees and the best ways to avoid getting hurt. And I did.

Then I grew up a little more and I made friends that weren’t so nice to me. You’d always tell me that you didn’t like the way they talked to me, and you’d remind me that I deserve friendships that were kind and true. But you never stopped me from seeing those friends. You never banned them from coming over. You let me figure out my worth for myself. You let me decide when I had the last straw. You let me decide that I was done being walked all over. And you let me do this all by myself, for myself because you believed in me. You had faith in me–that I would begin to love myself enough to walk away. And I did.

Then I grew up a little more and fell in love for the first time. Not all the fake ones, mama. You know the one. There you were again, telling me you didn’t like the way he treated me. You reminded me again of my worth. And I know you never did it in front of me, but I know you cried for me. However, you never stopped me from seeing him. You never banned him from coming over. You took him in and loved him for me because you wanted me to be happy. You let me decide when enough was enough. You let me figure out my self-worth again. You let me decide that I was done being walked all over. And you let me do this for myself, by myself AGAIN because you believed in me. You had faith in me–that I would fall in love with myself instead again and walk away. And I did.

Now here I am, Mama. I grew up, and I know not to climb in trees, period. I know now that there is no one on earth except you that can put magical band-aids on me that fix any and everything. I now know the value of true friendships and the value of kindness. I now know that self love is the best love, and the only way to love others is to love yourself first. I now know that I have the strength to walk away from anyone or anything that does not make me happy. I now know that I deserve nothing but happiness. The kind of happiness and peace I feel when I’m sitting next to you.

You have had faith in me since the day you held me in your arms for the very first time. I can only hope to be half the woman and mom you are so that my children can then too believe they’re capable of changing this world. I’m forever grateful for you.

You’re my best friend, Mama. I love you with every fiber of my being.

Thank you for believing in me.