Dear Mom,

You are the best; words cannot express how grateful I am for you & how lucky I feel to be your daughter. Everything that is good about me I know comes from you. You have put up with me all these years and taught me so much.

I thought I would share with the readers of this blog a couple of my favorite lessons from over the years:

1. Always leave things nicer than you found them: you have no idea how much I love this lesson & how often I use it to judge (sorry I know I shouldn’t judge others, but cleanliness is a good judge of character) other people & when there is that potential, whether or not they are dating material…sad, yes; necessary, I think so!

2. A home cooked meal w/ the fam, beats eating out any day: I think I miss this more now because I can’t drive 30 mins to have Sunday dinner w/ the fam. Thanks for feeding me all these years & for teaching me how to cook. Without your cooking lessons through the years, I would be one of those ‘frozen stouffer hooligans’ as Selina calls them.

3. Sometimes the things you want to say don’t come out exactly the way you would have liked…so don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself: We all say stupid things, but man they are great. Here are two classics from my mom that still make us laugh.

"What's up braggy bitches?" -Mom

"What?" -Selina

"Oh, I meant baggy britches..." –Mom

“But, he LOVES me” –Me

“I’m glad somebody loves you…” –Mom

4. You are NEVER too busy to serve others: This was/is one of those unspoken lessons I learned at a very young age from my mom, it is also one of those lessons that was repeated frequently. I honestly cannot remember a time when my Mom (& Dad, shout-out to the chief!) was not willing or actively seeking an opportunity to serve others. I remember growing up (& still today) that my Mom was always crazy busy (I mean taking care of us 5 crazies was hard enough…) but there was always time to volunteer for the PTA, help clean the church, or take a plate of cookies to the new neighbors down the street.

Thanks Mom, for your amazing example and for your love.

I love you forever & ever,

~Amy Keita (I just love this pic)