Dear Mom and Dad,

The first and biggest thing that I can say to both of you is I miss you.

I miss having you around 24/7 (despite the numerous times I complained about it at home.) I miss having someone to talk to about my day and rant to about each and every problem I’m having. I’m missing waking up to the smell of Mom cooking in the kitchen or hearing the familiar thump of the garage door opening when Dad comes home from work.

Mom, I miss talking to you for hours on end. You have always been my best friend – the one person I could turn to for any problem, any solution, any worry. Suddenly, I find that I need to face everything on my own. I can’t ask you if my outfit looks okay or if I should go ahead and do that thing I already decided to do without asking you first. I miss having my best friend somewhere where she can run to me in seconds to come and help me and talk to me. If I’m being completely honest, I even miss you yelling at me about all the junk around my room that needs to be cleaned up or the fact that I didn’t take the dishes out of the dishwasher when you asked me to six hours ago.

Dad, I miss all your corny jokes, dancing, and irritating quirks. I miss listening to you tell your reminiscent college-days stories at night or help me irritate Mom. You were my other best friend – maybe the one that didn’t make me do as many chores, however. You were always there to give me a pick-up when I was having a bad day, be it with a “funny” video you saw online or some hilarious story that you’d told me thousands of times before but one that got funnier every time you told it. I even miss the days when we were both in such bad moods that we would end up laughing at how snarky we were being to one another.

I miss the family nights spent in front of the TV and the weekend trips to lakes and mountains. I miss the cookouts on the porch or the many failed attempts at family card game night.

I miss having you both there for every part of every day and for every tiny moment in my life. I never truly understood how much you both were part of my life as I did my first day without you both. You don’t even understand how much I appreciate having you both in my life for and being such giving, kind and incredible parents.

I miss you both incredibly, and I know for sure that that will never change, but thank you. Thank you for giving me everything that I needed to brave the next four years with an open mind and an open heart. Thank you for being there every step of the way.

Love always.