I remember one day my mom and I were going out  and she dressed me up the same as her, a white shirt, jeans, a belt and cowboy boots, and we left the house and went to stand and wait at the bus stop. When the bus arrived and the Bus Driver opened  the door he looked at us and said, “are y’all two sisters?”  The bus driver asked if we were sisters not only because we looked exactly alike, but because I was 6 and you were 23. You just smiled at him and looked at me with the most pride in your eyes that anyone could have and said, “no, she’s my daughter”.
That’s how I always think of you, momma.

Most people would think that a teenage mother would not have many advantages in life, but you did not get the memo. Not only did you make possibilities for yourself, but you thrived. I’m sure the bus driver knew you were my mother  and was making a statement rather than asking a question but you never let anything or anyone put you down and kept that same look of pride in your eyes in everything you did. It is beacause of you I’ve learned everything I know, and it is because of you I am everything I am today. We did not have much back then but you made sure I knew that life would not be like that forever, and you fought to make sure it wasn’t. You are the strongest person I know, I’ve seen you stare hard times right in the eyes and tell it to ‘F off,’ and the hard times listened. So today I look at you the same way you looked at me at the bus stop. The same way I always will; more proud that you are my mother than you will ever know. I wish the whole world could get a chance to meet you just so they can experience a moment with the angel of a person you are.  If I had a choice in it all I would choose you, every time. I love you.

Oh, and we don’t have stand at bus stops anymore either