Happy Mother's Day.

Moms are there to get rid of the monsters in your closet when you're little, and to distract you from the ugliness of the real world when you're older. 

Moms are there to put bandaids on scraped knees, and to hold together broken hearts. 

Moms are there to help with science fair projects in elementary school, and help determine the correct frosting consistency from an hour away. 

Moms are there to drive you anywhere you need to go as a child, and to wait up for you when you drive home as a [kind of] adult. 

I'm more grateful for my mama every single day, because now I realize how much I took her for granted before. She's the first person I call when I get asked on a date, and the first person I call when I'm home from that date. She's the only person who's cooking advice I trust. She's the only one who I know won't judge me for being catty about some things, but will listen, and kindly tell me to "be the bigger person, Ash." She knows my frustrations better than anybody, gives the best advice...and it doesn't hurt that all of this usually involves some kind of cupcake or frosting too. ;) 

Because only my mom would have dinner waiting for me in the fridge every weekend I came home. Only my mom would answer the phone at 1:30 in the morning and talk sense into me through my broken-hearted tears, and then proceed to come up with a plan as a "closet mobster." Only my mom understands my love for Audrey Hepburn, Michael Buble, and Fiiz. 

She's a cake-making wizard who somehow finds the time to be superwoman to 6 bundles of chaos and if someday I can be half the mother she is, I'll be the happiest mom on the planet. 

So here's to you Mom. Thank you for teaching me how to bake, to appreciate music, and how manage my sanity reasonably well. Thank you for teaching me about unconditional love, true forgiveness, and strength--no matter the circumstance. Thank you for helping me believe in everything, from this wonderful gospel to the magic of literature and everything in between. Thank you for teaching me what I am capable of, showing me when I need to change, and helping me recognize when I deserve better than I think. 

Thank you for being my best friend.