Thank you Moms.

I love my moms.

This post was inspired by my step-mom's Facebook status:

DAUGHTER WEEK!!!!!!! If you have a daughter who makes your life interesting and fun, has been a blessing in your life and generally makes life worth living by being around, copy and paste this to your status. The world would not be the same without daughters! Couldn't be prouder of my lovely daughters!

I thought about putting out my own Facebook status, but there just wouldn't be enough room.

More about my moms:

My mom and dad divorced when I was 5. I don't think anyone was in the wrong, I think they just married before they were ready. I'll save my dad's post for another day. For now I'll just say I have the best dad ever. So I lived with my mom growing up.

My mom is usually quiet and reserved, but inside, she's a very strong woman. She's young, and we look very much alike, so often we're mistaken as sisters. In fact, once we were even asked if we were twins.

She had a different parenting style. She's straightforward and realistic, not the type of mom to keep her kids protected from the real world. For example, when I was a teenager, her lessons about the typical teenage stuff basically boiled down to: "Smoking is stupid and a waste of money. If you smoke, don't smoke in the house. Drugs are stupid, dangerous, and a waste of money. No drugs allowed in the house. If you drink, don't drive, but you're still expected home by curfew. And if you're picked up by the police for underage drinking, don't expect to be bailed out in the middle of the night." At no point did she ever say not to do something because she said so, instead she advised me not to do it and explained why.

Now that I'm grown up and moved out, my mom is one of my best friends. Whenever I call her, I have to set aside at least an hour to dedicate to the call. My mom is definitely not the gushy type, she'd never write a post like this, but I know how much she loves me and is proud of me.

Speaking of best friends, my dad is now married to a wonderful woman. She keeps him going and keeps him young. I can tell that he's having the time of his life. It's hard to call her my step-mom, because she has always felt more like a friend. I know that she will always be there for me. She cheers me up when I'm feeling down, gives me encouragement when I need it, and has conditioned me to kick butt in Scrabble.

I mean, come on, just take another look at the quote up there. I've always liked her, from the moment I met her. She was never just my dad's wife. I never felt nervous around her. She's always made me feel welcome, yet not in that motherly domineering way. Like I said, she feels more like a friend than a mom. I thank my dad for bringing her into my life.

Moms, I love you.