An amazing mother and friend

Let me begin by telling you how lucky I am to have a Mom like mine. She has always been there for me and I hope I can live up to be half the Mom she is to me. We have been through wonderful times and we have had some very tough times when my Dad left (when I was 9 years old and my brother was 11). My mom was an elementary teacher so needless to say she struggled to make ends meet and raise us. My father was almost nonexistent once he left and never provided financial or emotional parenting support for my mom. It was a tough time for my brother not to have his father around during these years and my Mom did everything she could to raise us the best she could being a single parent including working two jobs and summer school each summer. My mom is now retired but was an amazing teach for 32 years and won Teacher of the year at Meadows Elementary. She was actually my first grade teacher and did not allow me to call her Mom in the classroom. I had to call her Mrs. Hand which was extremely difficult. My mom has taught me amazing lessons throughout the years and I would not be where I am today without my mom's guidance and support. Even though I was awarded some scholarships for college, they did not cover the entire cost and she helped put me through school and was always there supporting me. When I saw this contest, I thought it fit my mom to the tee and in my eyes, she is the Greatest Mom in the whole wide world.

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