Mom, have I ever said thank you? 

Throughout the years, from the time I was a baby to now . . . did I ever say thank you? 

How you showed four of us kids the same amount of love, the same amount of time, and the same amount of patience throughout our childhood . . . did I ever say thank you?

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Any time one of us gave you attitude, rolled our eyes, acted ungrateful, took you for granted . . . did I ever say thank you?

The times you’d cart us around from this practice to that, or picking us up less than a mile from school so we didn’t have to walk, or letting us have friends spend the night when really you didn’t have the energy for another mouth to feed . . . did I ever say thank you?

As I grew into adulthood, but still called you to make appointments for me, asked you about the not so medical emergency I thought I had, called you randomly as I walked through the grocery store to ask you where an ingredient was, made you worry if I didn’t call back within a day . . . did I ever say thank you? 

Mom, did I ever say thank you for being the most thoughtful, caring person I know?

For listening to me, talking with me hours into the night when I no longer lived under your roof? Coming to visit me on a whim when I lived hundreds of miles away because I just needed my mom . . . did I ever say thank you? 

For being that person I could call, tell a story to, confide in without worrying what you would think, for being my best friend . . . did I ever say thank you?

Now you’re a grandmother to nine, and while you still show the same care to your own children, that care for your grandchildren has multiplied but never spread thin. You watch any one of your grandbabies without hesitation if needed and you love on them as if they’re your own . . . did I ever say thank you?

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Your grandchildren compete for your time and attention, but you talk, laugh, and interact with each one, letting them know how much each one matters . . . did I ever say thank you? 

Perhaps I have, and perhaps I haven’t enough. When I do say thank you, I hope you know I mean it from the bottom of my heart, with the most genuine sincerity I can muster.

I know words cannot express the thanks I owe to you. But thank you. 

Thank you for being you, Mom. Thank you for being there for me, for loving my boys, thank you for giving when you had nothing more to give, and most of all, thank you for teaching me how to be a good mom. Everything you have done doesn’t go unnoticed. Thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. A million times over, thank you. Thank you for being you.