Mom and Dad,

First, I just want to thank you for the life you have given to both me and my sister. You have given me everything I have, but also taught me how to support myself and be successful in my own way. Thank you for putting your relationship to the ultimate test, and showing me what real love is.

Growing up, you guys were always working hard. Mom worked in my elementary school while dad worked for an engineering company. We took road trips all over the states and traveled to Europe and Puerto Rico often to visit with family. You both came to every soccer game, dance recital, and piano concert with flowers and endless support. Those were the best days. As we got older, the activities changed, but your dedication to make it to every event did not. Not until my junior year of high school...

Dad got a call in July that his company had been sold to a much larger cooperation in Saline, Michigan, and that he would be transferred within a year. My sister was going off to college the year you would leave, so she wouldn't have to move, but I was starting my senior year in the town I've known and loved my entire life, so the fate of my last year of high school was questionable; would I stay in my home town or move 10 hours away for my last year before college?

I was perfectly okay with moving with you guys. Being away from my friends would have sucked, but I was up for the new experience and to look at colleges out there, even though I had my heart set on a school back home. The thought of staying here didn't even cross my mind. You both had brought up keeping the house and coming back to New Jersey for the holidays, which was fine with me! That was the plan until a couple weeks before dad left.

The two of you sat my sister and I down and told us the new plan; dad was going to move to Michigan, while mom stayed here with me and worked while I finished my senior year. I was crushed. Was it my fault you were doing this, all so I could finish out high school with my friends? To this day I still ask that question, but it was settled. Dad moved that June and my sister left for college in August, so it was just me and mom in New Jersey.

And now, here we are, four years later. Dad comes home one weekend a month, my sister even less. Mom still works in my elementary school, and I'm finishing out my second year at my dream school. Somehow, we make it all work. It's definitely not easy; communication is hard with four different lives all working at once, but thankfully group chats and FaceTime have become our best friends. Though I wouldn't wish this situation on anyone else, I couldn't imagine it being any different.

While I learned dozens of lessons from this experience, the most prominent is that home is no longer a location. These days, it doesn't matter if we are in New Jersey, Michigan, Puerto Rico, or Europe. Home is wherever the four of us are all together. Secondly, you can't take anything for granted. As a child, I definitely should've spend more time with you both and cherished the travels and laughs we had, because those are now my most beautiful memories. Lastly, I've learned that any love is possible if it's strong enough. Mom and dad, you guys are happily married for almost 23 years, even with living so far apart, and seeing you two together is the most precious time. At this point, all I can do is thank you both, and my sister, for the endless love, strength, and support, because it is those qualities that have made the ultimate long distance family work.

Love Always,

Your Yongest