I suppose you could misinterpret my inability to recall your age at the drop of a hat to the fact that I don't care, or I'm bad at math, however neither of these things are true. You see, I have simply immortalized you in my mind. You know how there are those fictional super heroes that never grow old and save the world on a daily basis with their fantastical super powers? Well to me, that's who you are Mom. You save my life all the time! Sure, you can't fly around the world in a matter of minutes, leap from tall buildings in a single bound and maybe you don't have a skin tight leotard hidden in the back of your closet to whip out when danger strikes, but you change diapers like no one's business, help high schoolers with math problems and your whit is faster than a speeding bullet.
There is one way, however, that you are nothing like a super hero. You see, in the movies the villain always has a dastardly plan that revolves around destroying Metropolis or Gotham or New York (it's always a big city) and the thing is, Superman and Batman kinda help him out with it. For when they have these epic battle scenes, there are always casualties. Buildings collapse, cars are set on fire and really, honestly, it probably would take them twice as much money (or more) as they made on these blockbuster films to rebuild what they destroyed. Yeah, sure, Joker was stopped and maybe Lex Luthor doesn't get to kill Superman, but at the end of the day, when the hero walks away, he kinda doesn't seem to care about what he accidentally decimated. Mom, you never tear down. You always build up. You have been instrumental in shaping and molding me into who I am today.
I love English because of you. Ever since I can remember, you have always been so willing and excited to share your love of learning with all us kids. You would sit and read to us at night if we got in our jammies quickly or finished up the dishes in time. Some of my favorite childhood memories revolve around sitting and listening as words fluttered off the pages of beautiful classic books and filled the family room as all of us kids listened, enraptured by the story, the language and your voice.
When I had surgery on my back in 7th grade, you would read to me until you got hoarse or I fell asleep. The drugs kinda made me a little loopy and I would forget in between readings what had happened in the story, so you would patiently summarize what we previously read and then continue with the book. I really can't tell you how much I appreciate you reading to us! I think it's because of you that I got a 5 on the AP LIT test! (Which gave me some credit and college and as a result saved me money!! :)
I could probably sing your virtues all night, but I won't, because I have to do homework and take a shower because I have class tomorrow! :) But I do want to list off just a few more things that I think are important for you to know.
Something really beautiful about having a mom like you is that I know you love me. Even when I mess up and mess up so bad that I think there's no way for me to fix it, you still love me. One time, I was stuck, stuck soooo deep in something that I felt I could never pull myself out again. I couldn't tell you about it either because I was pretty sure I would be grounded for life! (Not that you've ever really grounded me) I wanted to tell you, I wanted soooo badly to get rid of the stupid situation but I couldn't figure out how. Here's the thing that's amazing; I didn't have to tell you because you knew! You pulled me upstairs to talk to me about it and the whole story came spilling out. And when I was done, I looked up into your face and saw love. You weren't angry. You held me while I cried and told me that everything was going to be okay. It's because of you Mom that I understand just a little bit of how my Heavenly Father loves me and all his children. Because of your unconditional love, I know that even though I don't deserve it, I am loved all the time by you, by Dad and by my Heavenly Father. You have shown me what true love really is. Love is patient, love is kind, love is long suffering and love endures even through stupidity.
So Mom,
Happy Birthday! :) I am so lucky to have you as my Mom. You are the BEST EVER!!
Oh, and thank you for talking to me basically every day when I call you on the phone to regale you with all my latest exploits, even though you have eight other children (yes I know I'm not an only child, but I like to pretend sometimes okay!!! :)
Sure, Superman and Wonderwoman save people physically, but you help save my life spiritually, and that's more important.
I love you
Love,
Your favorite 18 year old daughter, Alina
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