We owe it all to our moms

My dad and I have always had a great relationship, developed over “Halo” on the Xbox and stupid movies like “Dumb and Dumber.” Some of my fondest memories involve my dad making me laugh until I snort and tears roll down my cheeks. Father-daughter relationships are strong ones, matched by almost no other.

However, there is one relationship that cannot be beat. Mother-daughter relationships are built bonding over shopping, gardening and the simple connection that comes from being able to share gender-related struggles that only a mother could understand. I’ve got three influential women in my life – my mom and two grandmothers.

In my lifetime – the whole, long 18 years of it – my mother has taught me many lessons. I’ve been lucky and privileged enough to have been told that “school comes first.” This idea has let me focus on my academic advancements and has driven my desire for continual learning.

My mother and grandmothers have provided for my well-being and happiness with gifts, love and – most importantly – cookies. I don’t have a clue where I’d be without their guidance, advice and home-cooked meals.

Without them, I wouldn’t be me. The lessons they have taught through example on honesty, hard work, determination and love have been indescribably important to my development. They’ve taught me that no matter what, life keeps going, and I must continue to move with it, despite hardship and difficulty. They’ve taught me that the real world is at once infinitely, achingly beautiful and infinitely, achingly cruel. “But, look how they’ve turned out,” I think to myself. “They’ve survived and thrived with happiness, success, love and family, and if they can do it, I can, too.”

Then I look at my best friends. I look at their mothers. I look at them and I see the same love and support they have for their children that my mom has for my brother and me. And that’s where all the beauty in our world comes from – our mothers. Teaching us so many things, sacrificing their personal lives, their time and – sometimes – their sanity to raise us in a way that improves the world that they grew up in. They don’t do it for themselves. They do it for us. Their love knows no boundaries and no work schedule. They are the most extraordinary people – and they only get one official day.

So, Happy Mother’s Day. But, every day, every second, I want to thank every mother and grandmother for all they do.

This story was originally published May 8, 2015 at 4:39 PM with the headline "We owe it all to our moms."