16 Reasons Your Mom is the Most Important Woman in Your Life

I’m thankful for getting to enjoy Paris with my mama.

As a 26-year-old single gal, I occasionally have difficulty imagining what the next decade of my life might hold: finally meeting a man I love, marrying him, and eventually having children. My mom married my dad at 25, welcomed me at 27 and for the last few decades, spent her life making sure I had the best, most loving life ever. From being my personal cheerleader to my European drinking buddy, I’m amazed every single day by the strength, love and wit that my mom effortlessly brings to my world. If you’re lucky like me, your mom holds a pretty big piece of your heart and and a pretty big chunk of data in your phone plan.

So without further adieu, your mom is the most important woman in your life because…

1. She encourages you to always carry lipstick, gum and a pen.
I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was a little girl and when I declared this to my mom she said, “You better put a pen in your purse, then!” As I got older, she also suggested I always carry gum (you never know who you’ll talk to) and lipstick (you never know who you’ll want to impress). All three of these things are with me as I type this.

2. She reminds you that awful men ain’t worth pissin’ on if they’re on fire.
When my seventh grade boyfriend broke up with me outside of gym class because it “just wasn’t working” – devastation at age twelve – I called my mom to pick me up from school. After a big hug, a chocolate fudge brownie sundae and a Shania Twain sing-along, she shared with me a Southern phrase that I repeat after every terrible date: “He ain’t worth pissin’ on if he was on fire.” Amen, mama.

This post was originally published on YourTango. To read the rest, click here.

It’s that time of year again! Write a self-love letter to yourself and you could win something pretty amazing.