At our reception, Mom gathered up a ton of old photos for a slideshow, which my mother-in-law put together. I’ve included a few of my favorites, just in case anyone is interested in witnessing the chubbiness my cheeks once possessed or what I wore on the first day of 3rd grade. Every once in awhile, I open up the folder on my laptop and go through the mini-timeline that is my life in photographs and get all sentimental. Today has been one of those days.

Looking at these photos, and the hundreds of other family moments my mom made sure we captured on film, takes me back to such wonderful times. I have grown up with two of the best people – my parents. They’ve dealt with my sass talk, my teenaged tantrums, and even my adult tantrums for so much of their lives, and somehow, they love me anyway. I will be forever indebted to them for all that they have taught me, for the patience that they’ve shown, and the adventures we’ve shared. My dad is always there to make me laugh, and Mom is constantly challenging me intellectually so that I can be a better person than I was yesterday. Every once in awhile, the power behind their love hits me, and I just want to cry. I ask myself what I’ve done to deserve these two incredible people, and then I think back on all of the times that I don’t think I could have made it through without them. As I continue to grow, I can only hope that one day, I can be half as good as they are, when it comes to being a mom. I hope that I can teach my son or daughter to believe in him/herself, to be a good person, and to be tough. I hope that I can give them all of the things my parents gave to me.

To quote one of my favorite books, they make me feel infinite – like there isn’t anything in the world that I can’t achieve. Even when I feel like the biggest failure, they’re there to reassure me that I have the strength to keep going, and that’s a beautiful thing.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for the memories and all of the future memories that we have yet to share.

xoxoxo
Ash