Dear momma,

I have so much to thank you for.  But, I am just gonna start with what I can recall first.  And what made the most lasting impressions...

Dear momma,

Thank you for taking care of me when I fell out of our Good Times Van in 1982 and broke my arm.  Thanks for not panicking when you saw me on the garage floor.  Thanks for keeping it cool to finish changing Kim's diaper before you rushed to my rescue.  Thanks for propping my arm up on that brown pillow so my arm could rest.  Thanks for giving me the long teaspoon to put down my cast to scratch my arm with.  You rock.

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Dear momma,

Thanks for becoming our Girl Scout Leader, aka Mama Jo.  I can recall countless hours in your Chevy Suburban, aka the Fudge Bomb, while you trollied me, Michele, Kim and our Troup around town.  Wherever we needed to be.  You were always there.  We may have been 5 minutes late, but we.were.there.  And thanks for encouraging me to show my Troup how I could do a cheerio with my body.  I tried so hard.  And succeeded.  Who cares if I lost my manners, aka farted, in everyone's face, right?!  Thanks to you, I will never live that down.  You truly are the best!

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Dear momma,

Thanks for still joining dad, Michele, myself and Kim as we did our daily 10 mile bike ride around the neighborhood after school.  Despite you only having one knee cap...you still went.  That had to hurt.  I know it did.  But, thanks for being such a trooper.  You still are....have I mentioned you ROCK?

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Dear momma,

Thank you for laughing so hard at me, while getting me a popsicle, when I roller skated into the neighbors rose bushes.  That popsicle was good.  Thanks for showing me what good humor is all about.  Thanks for making sure those thorns were not stuck in my tongue.  You can thank me for the good laugh later.  And thanks for showing me that laughing at yourself is a good thing.  It has taken me far.  You are outta this world momma!

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Dear momma,

Thank you for turning me in to my high school Principal for being truant when you caught me skipping school with my boyfriend.  I couldn't thank you then, I possibly thought you were the cruelest mom EVER, but now I know you were doing it out of pure love.  I hope Layla hates me like I hated you that day.  Because that means one day she will know exactly how much I love her.  You the bestest!

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Dear momma,

Thanks for making 200 enchiladas so half the football team and my friends could join me at our house after those football games!  Thanks for getting a kick out of that too.  Thanks to your fun loving attitude, people still call you the "coolest mom ever!"  I would have to agree.

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Dear momma,

Thank you for always going above and beyond.  Always.  From the science project that needed to be done, to the dance recital outfits to embellish, to the Homecoming mums that truly were the best, to the pep talks during college when I did not think I could make it through.  I did.  And a lot of it was because of those talks.

Thanks for showing me what tough love is all about. You were never doing me a disservice. You were just proving what true love is all about. For that...I thank you.  From the bootom of my butt.  Only 'cause it is bigger than my heart. 

All the things you did or did not do for me as a "child," I now understand.  It came from your never-ending love for me.  For us.  I get it now.  You have shown me how to ~ always ~ love Layla. 

And my thanks will never be enough.  But, at least I hope you know...