We all love our mothers and most of us will claim we have the best mother in the world. I am here to tell you I don’t.

Now hear me out. I am not saying I don’t have a terrific mother, because believe me, I do. But, I don’t have the best mother in the world. My mother has made many mistakes. She has grounded me for no reason. She has ignored my calls and my texts. She has punished me when I didn’t need it and not punished me when I did.

My mom has made a lot of mistakes, just as humans do, but the one thing she has always done right is love me as much as she can. I have never in my life questioned what my mother was sacrificing for me. I have never in my life been angry that my mother did something for me. I have also never said thank you.

I’ve never thanked my mom for being who she is. I know how much she feels as though she has failed me. I know how much she thinks she isn’t enough and isn’t doing enough. I know how she thinks I am embarrassed by her and her quirks, but truly I could ask for no one else to be my mom.

I would not be who I am today without my mom. I mean she did raise me after all, but as a child of divorce, I have seen my fair share of “step moms”. I mean sometimes they were nice, but none of them would ever be my mom. You only get one in this world and I had mine.

I never wanted to replace my mom. I never wanted someone else. I would take the late nights at a baby sitter, fast-food dinners and mix-matched socks over someone who didn’t call me Buggie.

I realize now that my mom is not Wonder Woman. She was tired, had lapses in judgement and made poor decisions, but what more could you expect from a single parent raising three kids and working two jobs? Nothing really. Sure, if my mom had the opportunity to always be Suzie Homemaker, she would have. Always coming home to a spotless home and a hot, home-cooked meal, greeted with cookies at the door would have been ideal, but Suzie Homemaker doesn’t exist.

No, my mom is an average person. She works like crazy, makes mistakes and sometimes forgets things. I’ve seen her cry in traffic, fold the same shirt three or four times and fall asleep minutes into a show. My mom is not the most amazing mom in the world, but she is better than I could ever expect. She is loving, caring, funny, kind and most importantly, she is mine.

I am so grateful every day for my crazy momma and all of her bad habits. Her “do as I say not as I do” attitude. The way she laughs and the wonderful smile I have grown to know. She listens to me even when I’m being ridiculous and reminds me how wonderful I am. And I could NEVER in a million years replace her. Thank you for being mine. I love you.