Dear Mom.
It's been a wild ride hasn't it?
Twenty-four trips around the sun on this hunk of rock we call Earth.
I'll have to take your word for the first few years, but then this ol' head of mine kicked in and began writing and recording ever day, month and year.
Have we fought? Yeah, we have. Have we yelled and screamed at one another? Yeah, we've done our fair share of yelling and screaming. Have I gone hours or even days hating you. I don't like to admit it, but I have done it. But through every day wasted being mad at one another, or yelling and screaming, we still stood side by side and faced this world and all of it's various challenges the way family is meant too. Together. Kicking ass Day in and Day out.
I asked myself where we came from. Well when I jumped onto this roller coaster we where in Hell. It took your blood sweat and tears to get out too, but you did it! Look then to when I grew up and how you stood defiant and proud even while I grew out of control and at times violent. It was a difficult period to say the least, but I am proud of both of us for seeing it through till its passing.
Remember, if you will, how you spent your valuable time helping your Son through my various subjects in school, even when I lost faith in myself you remind unrelenting. You knew even at the time that I had the potential to be more then I was at the time, that I would continue to grow and learn. Do you remember the night we practiced writing the word 'One Hundred', hell I can't even type it now without recalling that night and how you helped me work through it. The stubbornness you displayed that night gave me the inspiration to push through and continue to push through to this day!
All I've ever wanted to do was make you proud.
I would imagine that every time you thought of me falling flat or coming up short, you would remember those times where you would stare frozen on the sidelines, while twenty three other football players stood between you and your injured son. Let's be honest, if you had at any point released yourself and charged to my side, it would take a lot more then twenty three football players to stop you! But you never did, you showed your resolve each time, "Get up Bray, you got this, come on B-man!". I hope I made you proud each time I stood up, assisted or otherwise. I hope I made you proud every time I got back into that game and gave it my all. You showed me that heart mom! You showed my to defy all odds and stand strong no matter what! You gave me that strength to stand up again and again.
Fast forward to the present, because as much as I want to tell other tales, that'll have to wait for another day. I hope I continue to exhibit that heart and strength, that 'Fight to the last breath' attitude. I want you to know that I will always be by your side, just as stubborn and bloodthirsty as those days on the field.
If you ever have a bad day, I hope this can help, I hope this will help raise your spirits and make your blood boil. If you ever find yourself feeling inadequate or less then you really are, I hope this can bring you out of your personal cage and remind you of what got you here and what kind of person you created of yourself and in turn, the man you made out of your Son.
You are a born fighter and a symbol of Love and Faith. You have done an amazing job at being a Mother and I hope I can do as well, or even surpass you, in my own parenthood.
I love you Mom and I hope to make you proud on this day, and every day that follows.
Much love from your son, from now until forever.
Brayden, The Pookiest of the Bears. <3
