I can only imagine that becoming a mother is one of the biggest and most unknown commitments a woman can make in their life. It seems that the job comes with so many hidden expectations and requisites that no one could ever anticipate. An instance of this might be when a child tells their mother that they're going to go away for four months to hike across the country. That out-of-the-blue statement must induce at least a bit of worry and concern. It's probably impossible to see that coming from day 1.

After over 20 years of research and observations, I have come to the conclusion that being a mom is not easy. It appears that you not only have to raise the child, but you also have to try to make that child's life even better than your own. That doesn't seem to be a simple task. And yet, mothers everywhere do the best they can to make that dream a reality.

I believe that the real problem here is the thankless nature of the job. Too often, mothers go about their duty without being thanked for their commitment to literally making a brand new person: Personality, character, and all. I mean, 18 years (actually let's round that up to one lifetime) of close relationships in which the mom is supposedly the superior being can cause a negative effect. This strain on the relationship between mother and child can lead to infighting and conflict.

But even amidst the conflict and the shouting and the apparent rage, there is a deep and special bond that can never be replaced. Unfortunately (but maybe fortunately), we only get one mom, and no other close relationship with anyone else can ever change that.

The measure of a mom's success is hard to standardize. In human society, the mother is heavily judged by the results of her efforts - also known as the child. Depending on how successful the child is in life according to the somewhat arbitrary standards, the mother is either deemed successful, or they are placed in the other category.

I want to say that I disagree with that observation. I have seen what you have done for me over the 20 years of my life. I currently see the amazing friendship that we have and hope every day that it will never end. Though taking a semester off from college to hike for months at a time might not be the conventional standard of success, I see how good of a job you've done raising me and building me into a happy person. But again, I think how good of a mother you are has little to do with me and more to do with what you did as a mother. And you have done so much for me. I honestly don't know how I could possibly thank you enough.

I love you Mom, so very much.