Dear Mom,

I have been missing you a lot from London this semester, but I missed you especially when my friends and I watched the movie Lady Bird.

They told me it was going to be a crying movie; it was a sobbing movie. Right from the beginning, it was impossible not to think of you as Lady Bird and her mom drive through the countryside listening to audiobooks. Unlike us, Lady Bird and her mom have a troubled relationship. They yell at each other, and they throw things at each other. Her mom is very critical and often tells Lady Bird that she is not good enough or smart enough or grateful enough. Like us, though, they go shopping and Goodwill, and they go to the parade of homes, and they argue a little bit, and they love each other very much.

At first, Lady Bird made me cry because it reminded me of how much I miss you. It reminded me of the times that you have comforted me when I needed to cry. It reminded me of how sometimes we argue; Lady Bird is in her senior year of high school, and that was when we had one big fight too. I barely remember what it was about, but I do remember that ever since then, I feel like we have understood each other better. I am very thankful for our relationship and the trouble you go through to take care of me. I realized that sometimes we used to butt heads because I try really hard to be like you, and like Lady Bird's dad says, we have two very strong, similar personalities.

But what made me really cry was when I thought about how you would probably watch this movie and think about Grandma Sandy. March 2 is her birthday, so I know that you have been thinking about her a lot. I am so lucky that I have such a great mom to think about when I watch this movie, and I am especially lucky that she is still a part of my life. You had such a great mom too, and it makes me so sad that you can't text her "I love you" after you watch Lady Bird. I think sometimes you feel alone because she is gone. I think you feel like Dana is the only one who understands what it is like to miss her so much. When you watch mother-daughter movies, I know you think of the time that you had with her. I want you to know that I think of you and her too, but it would be impossible not to think of you and I. I want you to know that I love you as much as you love Grandma Sandy, and that I think I can understand how you feel when I imagine what my life would be like without you.

Thank you for everything you do. I love you.

Love,

Sophie