Dear Mama

By Jenise Jackson
Blog Content Contributor

I am grateful for every moment of life that my mother and I share, and I feel like Mother’s Day is a day to remind the queen of my life how much she means to me. Honestly, my mother has always been my main role model. I’ve aspired to be similar to her in as many ways as possible. She’s beautiful, smart, and loving amongst other things and I was lucky enough to be raised by her. To me, she is the greatest gift and the love I have for her can’t be expressed in a set amount of words but I will try to proclaim as much love as I can with this article.

Most people know my mother as Tanya, while I get the luxury of calling her mommy. In my mind, I usually find myself referring to her as an OG since she never really takes mess from anyone. Since she is only about an inch taller than me and I look a lot like her, people like to think we are sisters (which my mother tends to enjoy more than I do). What i’ve always found precious about my mom wasn’t any of her features or her attitude, but her infectious laugh. The laugh that instantly makes me happy when I hear it no matter what mood I’m in. She has a way of lighting up a room with little to no effort and how could I not love that?

From what I’ve been told, my mother and I have practically been inseparable since the day I was born. I think our bond grew stronger when my mother and biological father got a divorce. At that time, she was like the only person I could depend on at my young age. While those were tough times for the both of us, my mother showed me what it was like to be a strong, independent woman. Not once did she ever complain about having to raise me on her own for the amount of time that she did. She just simply did what she had to do and made sure that I was constantly taken care of. In her own little way, she was grooming me to become the young woman I am today without me even knowing it.

Throughout the years, my mother has shared some of her priceless wisdom with me. Most of the things she tells me never really resonates with me until I go through the things she was warning me about. Whether it has been telling me that there are going to be boys that break my heart, or the people who treat me bad now won’t matter in 10 years, her words reassured me that trouble doesn’t always last and there is usually a silver lining to everything you experience. However, what her words really teach me is that my mother will always be by my side whenever I need her, whether she is physically present on this earth or not, because she is implanting her voice within me to last me for the rest of my days.

To sum up, my mommy is the best thing to ever happen to me. She gave me life and continues to love me unconditionally more and more everyday. I appreciate all that she is and everything that she has done for me. I encourage everyone to make sure you let your moms know how you feel about them. As I stated earlier, you may not have enough words to express your feelings but sometimes the simplicity can mean the most. To all the beautiful and wonderful mothers out there, I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day. To my mom, I love you so very much and I can’t wait for you to read this and cry your happy tears.

Featured image courtesy of Jenise Jackson.