dear mahjah

for those nights that I just couldn't take it anymore and I broke. down. you told me everything was gonna be alright. you talked me through everything, step by step. you helped me come up with a plan. and when everything came together as I at one point thought it couldn't, I'd run to call you just so I could hear you say "I told you so." because you know what? you did.

I'd call you with my dream of the day. the latest blueprint to take over the world. and you'd tell me to put God first. to trust in Him. to be thankful. to be prayerful. to be positive. and if I so wanted to go to the moon, I'd get there. most importantly, you never told me I couldn't. you'd ask to come along.

you & fahjah left New York because, 20+ years later, you were ready for a break. to relax. because you deserve it. but you knew Georgia wasn't in the cards for me. you knew that we'd have hundreds of miles between us. that we'd see each other just a handful of times every year. that we'd be doing this mother-daughter thing long distance. and on those days that I felt beat up by the city that you left for that very reason, instead of telling me to come home, I'd wake up to an encouraging BBM. a hug through the phone.

because today was a good day. i burst into lauren's apartment, jubilant. if I could still do a cartwheel, I would've done ten. my first apartment. that's huge. and it's everything I wanted. perfect. i'm going to remember this day. just like I remembered this day. exactly a year ago. graduation. mother's day.

thank you. I couldn't have done it without you.