From the moment y'all met me, you invited me graciously into the lives of you and your family. Y'all invited me not only as a guest, but as a potential member. I was treated with respect as if I was a daughter instead of a temporary girl just passing through and interrupting everyday life in households I was otherwise not apart of.

From church camp and years of on and off, and five hours worth of long distance, I was apart of something bigger than myself. Even if through a screen through the majority of both relationship and friendship, I got the tour of your whole town. I got to long distance tag along to every swim meet, FFA event, and fishing trip to the island. Ending in the greatest heartbreak anyone could bear, you allowed me to visit a sacred space and still invite me in every time I came remotely near your town. Your perspectives on life and death I carry with me every day, a new view of the world I would have otherwise never learned. And yes, I still leave roses and notes at his grave every chance I get.

The following year we had the surprise of a torn ACL in the first and last game of men's lacrosse I got to witness senior year. I was invited into your home and spent time talking with you before I had ever met your son in person; one of my favorite stories to this day. You invited me to visit every weekend before I had even left from that weekend's visit; a two-hour drive I was thrilled to make every chance I got. Through my freshman and part of sophomore year of college, I was shown what strength, patients, and motherly devotional love looked like through stressful situations.

Fast forward 6 months and I found myself among a new family, going to church and having lunch with y'all after every Sunday service. Brought in during the transition of a lifetime as college rolled in, I was welcomed with opened arms to every hospital visit, football game BBQs, and drives to New Mexico on the weekends. No matter where we were, everything was natural, familiar, and fun. As a blossoming life came to a cancerous end, I watched as you laid everything out for God in the most difficult time in life that I could ever imagine and remotely be apart of from the inside. A lesson learned in faith and the greater good.

Flights across several states followed the following summer, introducing me to a world I knew nothing about. The first time I met you I met your daughter, too, who I took in as a little sister and miss dearly. I learned more about family dynamics and loyalty than I ever had before. The way you remained so close and connected with your kids inspires me to be the same way with mine one day, no matter how much distance lies between point A and point B.

Regardless of which boy I was dating, I was taught about love.

I was shown acceptance, learned about both successful and failed relationships, and to care about people endlessly because you never know how much time you truly have. In one way or another, y'all were there for prom in different cities, tattoo talk explanations to prepare me to face my own mother, emergency room visits for each party involved, holiday check-ins, and endless FaceTime calls.

I was invited to houses, meals, family gatherings, gravesites, vacations, and just about every other opportunity that could have presented itself. I am not only thankful for the sons you raised, but the influences y'all had on my life. Mothers are often forgotten but make impacts just as big as any young relationship could.