Mom, thanks for...

• Buying me a pair of cute, strappy sandals to make up for my first boyfriend breaking up with me
• Talking through our problems and figuring out how we can best communicate with each other
• Teaching me the importance of late night ice cream binges 
• Helping me figure out all the things I could probably figure out on my own but don't want to
• Making me call my doctor/order in food/talk to people I didn't want to talk to when I was a teenager
• Accepting (and sharing!) my sense of humor
• Showing me how to manage stress/tough times with your actions and not your words
• Spoiling me when I did not deserve to be spoiled
• Sending me flowers every year on my birthday
• Being the only person in the world I truly want to emulate
• Pretending all those injuries I caused by being a total klutz didn't completely ruin your day
• Having a no-nonsense attitude
• Telling me at a young age the importance of professional presentation, from appearance to speech to nonverbal expression
• Encouraging my dream of being a famous writer even though we both know that will never happen
• Having lots of pets all the time
• Staying strong for everyone in the family through tragedy
• Showing me that you can look put-together on a budget
• Being my mom