Happy Mother's Day!

My mom is my best friend, my rock, the one I look up to the most in this whole world.

I know how truly blessed I am to have a woman as wonderful as she is as my mom, but I'm going to dedicate this blog to her on this Mother's Day Weekend.

We're best friends. I know I can tell her anything, ask her anything, cry or laugh and no matter what, she's there. I was an active kid, to say the least. But no matter what, whether it was gymnastics, dance, track, pageants, school events or any of the other three thousand things I was involved in, she was there. She taught me the importance of building a strong family with morals and values and how important it is to love one another, through thick and thin. I want to be the kind of mom she is to me. I learn from her every single day and I take pride in the successful woman she is.

 We are similar, too. It's funny...I went to WVU and followed in her footsteps of a Journalism degree. After watching her passion of working with non-traditional students at West Virginia Junior College while I grew up, my career path led me to the same organization where I now work for our corporate office. We love the Mountaineers, of course, and enjoy the finer things in life - Shopping, Manicures and Pedicures and Good Wine. Oh...and we both love daisies..I know I'll never forget the big picture she always had hanging in our home with daisies on it. We talk a lot, we laugh a lot and we aren't afraid to stand firm for what we believe in.

 I can't choose a favorite memory of my mom and I because there are just too many. I will say that when I recently won Mrs. West Virginia International, when she came up to the stage to give me a hug with huge tears in her eyes, it just proved how incredible she is. She knew I had worked so hard and she was so unbelievably proud. What an incredible feeling. Another recent memory includes a time when my husband was out of town for business and she came out to stay the night with me. We drank sweet red wine, sat on my back deck and talked all night. It was perfect. Oh...and when she taught me how to make a pot roast. The look on her face when I said, "Oh, so you put a little piece of chocolate in it" when she opened the beef bullion cube to add was literally priceless. I'll never forget it.

 No matter what challenges my life has thrown at me, she's always been there with the perfect advice. She supports me on every journey, every challenge, every path my life takes. She's mended every broken heart, taught me the importance of reaching for the stars and has instilled values in me that have made me who I am today.

So tonight, I'm wishing a Happy Mother's Day to the most incredible woman in my world. I love you more than words can say and I am so thankful for you in every single way. When I become a mom, I want to be just like you and I know we will continue to make memories that will stay in my heart forever. Happy Mother's Day 2013, Mom! :)