Dear Mom,

Thank you for doing the hardest job in the world and raising me. I never got to tell you how strong you were and how incredibly proud I was to be your daughter. That you inspired me to be strong and independent. I marvel at you being a single Mom at 26 and raising me while working full-time. How I’ll talk anyone’s ear off that will listen about you and how great a Mom you were. You left big shoes to fill. You taught me how to stare down the things that scare me, never let people see you sweat and how to grab the bull by the horns and give it all you’ve got.

You showed me the importance in loving people and loving them fully. You taught me invaluable lessons on time, how to use it most wisely and how not squander it. That we are only given so much of it and to never take a minute of it for granted. Never take anyone for granted and never forget how people treat you, good or bad, and respond accordingly. Thank you for instilling in me the importance of education, pushing me to do better and seeing me graduate from college. I know this was a huge deal for you. I wish in the end I had asked you more questions. Your generosity was immeasurable so much so that people will still tell me about the things you did for them. You gave not only of yourself, but your time and love.

Even seven years later, it still stings to think of the things you will never be able to see and how much I miss you every second of everyday. You were truly my best friend and the person I would go to with anything. I know even now that you’re still here and pulling strings to make things happen for me and I appreciate all the support and love I still feel from you. If I can be a 1/10 of the women you were I will consider myself a success. I never got to tell you but losing you was like losing a piece of myself, that’s how very much I loved you. I love you to pieces and I’d tell you a 1,000 times a day if I had the chance. Thanks, Mom, for being the best, being my friend to the end and showing me in 23 years more than many people learn in a life time.

Love,
Sarah Kate, age 30