Of all the cards I've given my Mom over the years, each professing how much I love her in regards to what holiday we are celebrating. I find myself in need of another card, this time for her birthday. Her "21st" birthday. For the fifteenth time.

The bond you feel with a parent is impossible to define. It's all the words that I cannot seem to find. It's like having a built-in best friend from the get-go. A bond so distinguishable that it's not one like you'd have with your siblings but one that you know transcends your being. It's the bond that makes you tear up a little when you realize that she may not be here one day. It's the same bond that has you hoping and wishing that day never comes. Despite all the fights, the tears, the arguing and the I-didn't-mean-it-like-that's, you recognize that you'll always have a home. Mom's are the beacons in the night, silent and steady. Unfaltering and watching. Slowly guiding you to the place you need to be.

Mom,

Thanks for teaching me that my mind is more important than my body. That my intellect will overrule my beauty. Thanks for teaching me that true beauty comes from within. So does self-affirmation and self-validation. Thank you for reminding me that I am a wonderful person even when I don't feel like one. Thanks for putting up with my mood swings and for never quitting our friendship. Thanks for being able to distinguish when I need my mother from when I need my friend. Thanks for being proud of me even when I fail. Thanks for reminding me that I still need to fly even when I fall along the way. Thanks for teaching me to be a lady. To never start it but always finish it. Thanks for teaching me to be tough and to always look for in the good in others. Thanks for teaching me that words are sharper than knives and we must wield them wisely. Thanks for not kicking Thomas' butt on the playground when I begged you to; Thomas, I forgive you, jerk. Thanks for teaching me the need to forgive but it's okay that I don't forget. Thanks for letting me be curious and explore, even it meant messing up the house. Thanks for praying with me and for me. Thanks for letting me think I'm a know-it-all and for letting me ramble about something I'm passionate about. I know I bore you sometimes. Thanks for giving me your hair and your smile. And a little bit of your nose. Whenever people ask who I got them from; I always say "I got it from my Mama."

Happy 21st Birthday Mom ;)

Your annoying, overly sappy, sweet and sassy, favorite and only daughter.