As the summer months draw near, it’s once again time to celebrate the hardest workers, most loving souls and, most importantly, the ones who gave us life, our mothers. Lucky for me, I’ve been surrounded by extremely strong and caring women throughout my life who have played somewhat of a motherly role. Between my grandmothers, aunts, bosses, coworkers, teachers and coaches, I’ve always had a motherly figure to look up to. Yet no one, let me repeat myself, absolutely no one, is nearly as important or special to me as my very own mother and forever best friend, Jennifer Jane Straw.

As the first born child and only daughter, it makes sense my mom and I would share an unbreakable bond. Lucky for us, this unexplainable and extremely close bond has only grown stronger throughout the years. My mom, who taught parenting classes on the side for years, was never too strict and, I’m still not quite sure why, trusted me completely (or that’s what I believed). She worked hard as a mother, teaching me all of life’s most important lessons, yet allowed me to learn on my own, make my own decisions and most importantly, taught me how to take accountability for my actions. She pushed me to work hard, thus coining her signature phrase “go, fight, win” to help me reach my goals, and was there to pick me up off the ground when I failed miserably.

Through the teen years, which yes, I’ll admit, were full of drama and tears (I was a crier), we were lucky enough to skip the “I hate my mom stage.” When it was time for me to move to college, I finally, 18 years later, realized how extremely lucky I was. Most of my new friends were ecstatic to get out of the house while I, an emotional basket case, instantly burst into tears at the mention of the “M” word during the first few weeks away from home. Yet, somehow, the time away made me respect and adore my mother even more than I already did and allowed our relationship to flourish and mature into the strong friendship we have today.

Although I may be biased, I’m completely certain I’m the luckiest daughter in the world to be able to call the woman I look up to most my mother. Through her sense of humor and contagious laugh, faith in God, and loving and caring nature for everyone she crosses paths with, she has shown me the true meaning of love.  She works harder than anyone I know and has always been there with open ears and unbiased advice. She’s the first one I call when something goes right and the first person I call when I’m down in the dumps.  It is safe to say I wouldn’t know what to do in this world without my mom.

I’m very lucky that somehow my mom, who’s role was to love, nurture and discipline me, took on a new role as my best friend, who I enjoy doing absolutely anything and everything with.  For the outsider looking in, it’s quite unusual how much time I do spend with my mom, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. From the countless shopping trips to TJ Maxx, gym dates, Caribou coffee catchups, road trips, family dinners and everything else in between, there is never a dull moment. Now that I live further away from her, I sincerely cherish every minute we get to spend together.  As I grow older and move into the next stages of my life, I can only hope one day I am half the woman my mom is and continues to be.

Happy Mother’s Day to my Mom and all of the mothers out there! Your children love and respect you more than you’ll ever know!