Sincerely, Sarah: Mother's Day

There are simply just not enough words or time to explain how much I appreciate and love my mom.

And I hope she knows that she always deserves more than just 1 day to remember that.

A lot of people post on social media sites about how their mom is the "better than yours", "no other mom is greater" than theirs, blah blah blah.... I'm sorry... I didn't know this was a competition.

We all love our mother's beyond words and feel the same about them for different reasons and at different levels.

So please, stop posting that yours is the better than mine, it's not a competition - all mother's are beautiful, selfless, hard-working, patient, and the best gift a son or daughter could ever ask for from God.

Anywho, I wanted to dedicate not just a picture on Instagram or Facebook to my mom, but a post to express how much she means to me.

I tell her every single day that I love her and do my best to tell her how grateful I am that she is mine.

Without a doubt, I completely believe she is my personal angel God sent to protect me, teach me, and guide me through my life; and she has been doing just that.

She was at every single dance performance and competition for the first 11 years of my life.

She was never a stage mom. She would drop me off at dance, pick me up, watch me practice over and over again, smile as I showed off my costumes, and even hugged and wiped my tears when things seemed unfair or seemed too tough to handle.

She never pushed me to dance, only encouraged me to do it only if it made me happy.

She jumped right when I asked for tumbling lessons for high school cheerleading. She watched each tumbling class and video taped each one upon her demanding daughter's request :).

She was there to give me the confidence I needed to perform my very best each Friday night; of which I knew I could count on seeing her smiling face every night I looked into the stands.

She was there to help me as Captain; to walk me through how to work with and be a leader to 25 girls.

She was so supportive in all things Orem High Cheerleading.

She was there on the first day of college to move me into my dorm rooms where I didn't know anyone.

She would talk on the phone with my every day and encourage me to get outside and meet new people.

She was supportive of my decision to join a sorority and was so excited for me to meet new people.

She was there when Alpha Chi needed to practice for recruitment and enjoyed seeing and meeting the amazing new people in my life.

She has always been the BEST travel buddy and we always have so much fun together.

From Hawaii, St. George, the Emmy's, Paris, she's such a fun travel buddy and I can't wait for more trips ahead!

She was there for me through every up and down with my relationships and continues to be my open ear and shoulder to cry on, and always has the words I need to hear.

If there is anything I have finally learned in my 24 years with my mom, it's to listen to what she says.

98% of the time that I have done opposite of what she advised or suggested, I regretted not following her words.

Even those around her seek her out for guidance in their personal lives because they know they can count on her and she will be there to support where she can.

I pray all of the time that I will be blessed with a daughter that I can build the relationship I have with my mom.

And I hope to be half the mother she has been to me and Ryan.

My mother is

strong, patient, selfless, giving, caring, loving, smart, talented

and above all, she is so beautiful.