Everything I Am I Owe to My Mother

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‘There wasn’t any opportunity I missed because my mother always had my back.’

Each year on Valentine’s Day my mother and I exchange small gifts. It is a tradition that we have grown accustomed to and it is a sweet way for us to tell each other how much we love one another. This year though, each time I think about what to get her, no gift ideas come to mind.

My mother is a person full of love. Whether it is taking added care of her patients or staying up late to make sure I got home safe from class, she always goes that extra mile. She is the strongest person that I know and has taught me the most important lessons in life. To be true to oneself, perseverance and respect. She is a great inspiration and has done a fine job with raising me and my two brothers.

Though I am the only girl and the youngest of three children, I could never hope for a sister because my mother has been one to me. Throughout the years, as friends came and went, my mother has remained by my side. Her unconditional love and support has guided me and has made me the person I am today. Because of her I have the tenacity to make something of myself. She pushes and pushes me and gives me strength, she is my rock and my foundation. No one has been more loyal and giving to me than my mother. I wonder if I could ever be half the mother that she has been to me.

My mother knew that school would be the ticket to success and drilled it in me as a child. She worked 16 hours a day for years so that I could reap the many benefits of this country. During my college years I was able to work for the school paper, be a DJ at the radio station and intern at CW11. There wasn’t any opportunity I missed because my mother always had my back.

For everything my mother has done and the love she has given me, I ask myself what can I purchase that could convey my sheer gratitude? Certainly Hallmark could not find the words my heart feels when I myself cannot find them. I could search the malls until my feet is sore but there would be no earrings, no perfume that can come close to what she deserves.

This year on Valentine’s Day my mother will hand me a wrapped present with a smile on her face and I think I’ll just walk her to the computer screen.