Dear Mom,

I know things have been rough between us in the past, but now, looking back, I see how alike we are. Moving away to college made me realize how much I need you and how much our daily texts and phone calls mean to me. Not everyone can say their mother is their best friend, but I undoubtedly can. Looking back to my high school days and early college years, I now know you were right about everything. I wish I would’ve taken more of your advice, but I guess some things I have to figure out on my own.

You aren’t here anymore for me to come home to after a long school day, or take care of me when I’m sick. When I was little, you were the one who helped me bundle up in snow gear so that I could play in the snow and who made me hot cocoa when I came back inside. In the summer you would take me to the park for a picnic, complete with peanut butter sandwiches and tang. I’ve realized that it’s these simple things that mean the most. These are truly my most precious memories. You were my best friend, and I was yours. I was your little companion in the stroller with you at the mall, your number one craft partner, and your little helper around the house. It’s hard to think that those days will never come by again, no matter how much we want them to. The past is something so unique, because it can never be brought back and can never be replaced.

I would do anything to have those days back again, because it was just you and me, something that doesn’t happen very much anymore. You’ve never given up on me, and for that, I am forever grateful. You’re always there to call, no matter the circumstances, and I know I can talk to you about anything. I text you nonstop, but you don’t seem to mind. I can always count on you, and in the worst of times, you lift me up. Friends come and go, but you’re my best friend forever, here to stay. I don’t know what I would do without you, and I am so blessed to have you as my mom.

I wish we spent more time together, but it’s never too late to change that. Life goes by too fast. It feels like just yesterday that you were moving me into my freshman dorm. Where does the time go? In a few years I’ll graduate college, and it’s scary to think we may not even live in the same state. Life has a way of making you realize things when it’s too late. I regret all the times I went out with my friends instead of spending time with you, and I would do anything to get that time back, but I can’t. There’s so many things that changed, but the only thing I have control over is the future.

You don’t get tired of listening to the multitude of problems I relay, and you listen to me on the phone with attentiveness and endless love. You give your honest opinions, even if you know I won’t like it, but it’s what I need to hear. Your honestly and compassion for me are limitless, and you’re the one person I know I can always go to. You’re my best friend who has known me my whole life, and I dare say you know me better than anyone else.

Thank you for every little thing you do for me--the uplifting texts, the long phone conversations, and your unconditional love. You’ll never know how much it means to me just having you on the other end of the phone sometimes. I will always be your first daughter, riding around in the stroller with you at the mall or making crafts with you in my giraffe chair at the yellow table. Our memories together have a special place in my heart, and I’m so blessed to know we will have many more. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me the past 20 years. I love you so much, Mom.

Your Daughter,

Lucy