The Woman Behind So Much of Who I Am

There are some people in life who become your safe place without even trying. For me, that person is my mom.

I honestly don’t know what I would do without her. She’s the person I can call when I’m happy, frustrated, excited, confused, overwhelmed, or when I just need to hear her voice.

And apparently, “I’ll just call Mom for a minute” is a phrase that means absolutely nothing in our world—because somehow that “minute” turns into a conversation, another conversation later, and probably a few more phone calls throughout the day.

I talk to my mom multiple times a day. Sometimes we have something important to talk about, and other times there is absolutely no reason for the call other than one of us has something to say. She knows the little details of my life, the big things that keep me up at night, the things that make me laugh, and probably way more than she ever needed to know.

But what makes my mom so special isn't just that she’s always there. It’s the way she makes everything feel a little lighter.

And my mom is hilarious.

She has this ability to say something completely unexpected at exactly the right moment and have me laughing until my stomach hurts. Sometimes I’m not even sure if she’s trying to be funny, which honestly makes it even funnier. We can go from having a serious conversation to laughing over something completely ridiculous in about three seconds.

She’s also one of the people who knows me best. She has seen me at my strongest and my weakest. She knows when I’m saying “I’m fine” but absolutely am not fine. She knows when I need advice, when I just need someone to listen, and when I probably just need to laugh.

As I get older, I realize more and more how incredibly lucky I am to have this relationship with my mom. Life gets busy. Things change. We grow up and our lives become complicated, but there is something incredibly comforting about knowing I can still pick up the phone and call my mom.

And I will probably continue doing it multiple times a day for as long as she’ll answer.

Mom, I hope you know how much you mean to me. Thank you for always being there, for listening to me, for loving me through every version of myself, for giving me advice—even when I don't necessarily want it—and for making me laugh when I need it most.

I truly don't know what I would do without you.

You are my mom, my sounding board, my comedian, my biggest supporter, and one of my greatest blessings.

And if I call you again five minutes after we just hung up…

Well, you should probably just answer.

I love you more than words can ever say.