Dear Mama,

You joke that I raised myself. You say that I've always been so stubborn and independent that I never really needed you at all. You tell the story of how when I was itty bitty, you took me in the pool for the first time. I pushed you away from me as soon as my little feet hit the water and just started to swim. Or you tell me about the times when I was a little older that I would climb trees and fearlessly walk upright onto the branches with you standing below just in case I fell. You point to these stories and say, "See? You didn't need me." I see it a different way.

Whenever I pushed you away because I could do something on my own, you didn't pull me back. So you never taught me to doubt myself. Whenever I took a chance to do something fearless, you never ordered me to stop. So you never taught me to be afraid. But whenever I did push you away to swim by myself, you stayed right by me, just in case. And whenever I walked out on those tree branches, you stayed right under me, arms outstretched, just in case. So you taught me you would always be there. You taught me I would always have a safe place to land. And you taught me that I could do anything, be anything, accomplish anything, but that mama was nearby, just in case.

Thank you for showing me who I want to be. Thank you for letting me be who I am. Thank you for never teaching me to doubt that I was good enough or that all things are possible. Please don't say I raised myself or that I didn't need you, because without you, I could never be me.

I love you. Happy Mama's Day.