25 Heartfelt Thanks I Owe My Parents

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Parenting often feels like a thankless endeavor. When you’re up all night tending to a sick child, you might end up with more mess than gratitude. Surviving a trip to a crowded play center can be met with a meltdown on the way out and maybe even a nasty cold two days later. And let’s not even start on the quest for the must-have toy of the season, which usually ends with “I wanted it in blue instead!”

It’s often said that the true appreciation for our parents comes once we step into their shoes. While I like to think I would have come to this realization eventually, I genuinely didn’t grasp the depth of my parents’ sacrifices until I became a parent myself.

Looking back over the years, I realize there are countless unspoken thank-yous owed to my parents. Beyond the obvious—like bringing me into the world and providing for me for 18 years—there are so many subtler gestures that deserve acknowledgment. So here’s my heartfelt thank-you note to Mom and Dad.

1. Thank you for rocking me to sleep, holding me close, and soothing me with gentle back rubs during those restless nights.
2. Thank you for your patience during my many tantrums and the demands of my younger years.
3. Thank you for the 49-block trek back to the hotel to retrieve my lost Strawberry Shortcake doll, a treasure I’d probably forgotten about shortly after.
4. Thank you for showing up at school countless times to comfort me during kindergarten meltdowns, all while managing a newborn and a toddler.
5. Thank you for surviving endless grocery trips with three whining kids and never once leaving one of us behind in the frozen aisle.
6. Thank you for enduring the “Are we there yet?” chorus on road trips, and for never actually making good on your threats to turn the car around.
7. Thank you for shuttling me and my friends to countless activities, from Girl Scouts to sleepovers.
8. Thank you for taking us on family vacations, despite the fact that these trips usually felt more like chaos than relaxation.
9. Thank you for caring for me whenever I was sick, especially that unforgettable moment on the snorkeling boat when I made quite the mess on your lap.
10. Thank you for teaching me about diversity and the beauty of differences, reminding me that life would be dull if we were all the same.
11. Thank you for caving in and getting us that puppy we begged for, only to end up being the ones who walked and fed it.
12. Thank you for navigating the whirlwind that is puberty, complete with all its ups and downs.
13. Thank you for making me feel beautiful during those awkward teenage years when everyone else had unsolicited advice to share.
14. Thank you for instilling in me the belief that kindness is the greatest beauty of all.
15. Thank you for pretending to be busy when my friend shared intimate details about her dating life in high school.
16. Thank you for never uttering “I told you so” during the not-so-great boyfriend saga.
17. Thank you for holding off on getting cable until I was gone at college, giving me a solid comeback to my kids’ complaints about TV options: “When I was your age, we didn’t even have basic cable!”
18. Thank you for waiting until after I left for college to install central air, which prepared me for the joys of postnatal night sweats later on.
19. Thank you for raising me with a sense of feminism, teaching me I could stand on my own two feet.
20. Thank you for helping me see that even the smallest tasks can hold deep meaning, revealing the extraordinary in the everyday.
21. Thank you for sacrificing your dreams to help mine come true.
22. Thank you for having the humility to admit you didn’t always know what to do and didn’t have all the answers.
23. Thank you for looking after my kids while I was away and assuring me that “everything is great!” (We know the truth!)
24. Thank you for showering your grandkids with a love that mirrors the unconditional love you gave to us.
25. Thank you for teaching me the value of a genuine thank-you, even if it comes a little late.

I wish I could promise to be more vocal with my gratitude moving forward, to acknowledge every little thing. But life gets hectic, and I know I might forget to express my appreciation for all the little moments. So, Mom and Dad, let this serve as the biggest thank-you ever for everything you’ve done and continue to do.

And for the kids out there, winning a grand total of 1,364 tickets for plastic toys at the play center is more than enough of a thank-you as well!

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