Dear mamma and pops,

I have forgotten to tell you something the past few times that I have seen you. I have forgotten to tell you "thank you". Growing up with you two as my parents has been a complete blessing. I can assure you that I would never be where I am today without you two guiding me through it all. Today I sat down and really thought about my life so far. There have been so many opportunities for me to say those two little words to you and I didn't. If I could go back in time and say "thank you" to both of you everyday of my life, I would. I am not only grateful for the good days, but I am also thankful for the not so good ones.

Thank you for showing me how to make mistakes. You have always told me that you are not perfect and neither one of you have ever expected me to be perfect either. You let me make mistakes and you let me see you make mistakes as well. You two have always been so humble when you make a mistake and you have taught me to be the same way. You have taught me to take responsibility for my actions and to be genuine about my apologies. I know that during my drama teenage days, I would not be saying this but I really do appreciate the tough love. You two have helped me through so much and you have helped me grow into a better person.

Thank you for showing me what marriage can look like. At twenty years of age I can honestly tell people that I can still see the love between the two of you. You two have been through so much together. A perfect marriage does not exist, but watching you two together makes my heart smile. Your marriage has seen some really hard days, but I will always admire that you two worked together in order to keep our family.

Thank you for all of the memories. Mom, I will never forget my many dance competitions and all of the laughs we shared. Pops, I will never be able to eat a bowl of ice cream without thinking about you. Our family has so many crazy moments. I am convinced that we are God's favorite sitcom. From my crazy nicknames to our spur of the minute day trips, I could not imagine my life without you. Some of my favorite memories are from days that I have spent riding in the back seat of the car with you two in the front.

Words cannot explain how much I love you both. You have done an incredible job at parenting. Thank you so much for the many sacrifices that you have made for us. You have given up so much for our family and you both have impacted your children in ways that you will never be able to understand. All three of your children are doing amazing things with their lives because our parents did amazing things for us.

I am sitting here writing this and crying my eyes out thinking about how fast our family is changing. Everyone is growing up and we are all going our different ways. But I know that I can always come home to you. I know that you two will always stand by my side. (Just like dad stood by my side even after I got my tattoo). You two have created such a strong bond between each member of our family I do not think that anything could ever separate us. No matter how old we get, we will always come back to home base. And home base is wherever mamma and pops are.

Love always, your little girl,

Sis.