To my parents on their anniversary
Thank you for loving me enough to be a parent, when what I thought I needed was a friend.
Thank you for always pushing me to be my best but for loving me no matter what.
Thank you for telling me “no” sometimes, even though I didn’t understand why at the time.
Thank you for eating my eggshell-riddled desserts and always braving a second helping.
Thank you for patiently listening to me sing the same songs a thousand times and still be willing to give advice after hearing it for the 1,001st time.
Thank you for reading to me every night, even on the nights you were so tired you fell asleep with me and the book in your lap.
Thank you for always giving me what I needed, but not always everything I wanted.
Thank you for drying my tears my tears when I cried.
Thank you for giving me siblings, who are the best friends I could ask for.
Thank you for making me meals, buying me clothes, and giving me 5-gallon buckets of my favorite ice cream on my birthday.
Thank you for making me always feel special when I felt a little lost and unimportant.
Thank you for always trusting me but for not forgetting you were responsible for me and my safety.
Thank you for driving to all of my sports events and never complaining about the time you got lost doing so.
Thank you for teaching me the value of being a Christ-like person and showing me how to live that way through your own examples.
Thank you for always being there for me, but also for teaching me how to stand on my own.
Thank you for telling me every day that you love me. I never had to wonder; I always knew.
Thank you for teaching me how to walk, how to ride a bike, and how to drive a car, even though I’m sure I scared you to death every step of the way.
Thank you for treating me with respect and valuing my opinions when other adults dismissed me and treated like an ignorant child.
Thank you for paying for my braces. Twice.
Thank you for being excited about my successes, no matter how small, and for being sympathetic to my failures, no matter how insignificant to the rest of the world just because you knew how important it all was to me.
Thank you for loving one another and showing me the value of marriage in a world that has downplayed its importance.
Thank you for never complaining when I asked you for so much and gave so little in return.
Thank you for not freaking out when I totaled the car.
Thank you for always being so confident that I would succeed in anything I tried.
Thank you for taking me to church every Sunday and waiting as I ran out the door half-dressed because I woke up late.
Thank you for the years of laughter and fun we have shared and for the many such years yet to come.
Thank you for letting me skin my own knees and make my own mistakes because you knew I needed to learn some things for myself.
Thank you for encouraging me to go outside and play pretend instead of sitting me down in front of the TV.
Thank you for teaching me there are consequences in life for every decision you make and sometimes even for not acting at all.
Thank you for telling me I could come to you about anything and meaning it.
Thank you for making God a priority in your lives so we could have a home filled with the Spirit.
Thank you for being the best parents I could have ever asked for. I love you so much!
For Mom
Thank you for understanding that sometimes you need to play hookie even when you’re not sick.
Thank you for showing me that even though being a mother is one of the hardest callings in life, it’s also one of the most rewarding.
Thank you for staying at home with me all those years when you could have been pursuing your own career.
Thank you for birthday lunches at Olive Garden and trips together to the mall.
Thank you for letting us “help” you make Christmas cookies and Thanksgiving pies when you could have done it so much easier by yourself.
Thank you for teaching me that the world does not get to determine your beauty or your worth.
Thank you for listening to me rave for years about Harry Potter, Countess Meliara, and Bella even though I know you would have preferred I spent my time reading non-fiction books.
Thank you for being willing to make cookies every time you visit.
Thank you for showing me you can love both flowers and sports; sweats and makeup; cookies and broccoli.
Thank you for having cocoa ready every time I played out in the snow.
Thank you for not getting too angry when I cut off all of my hair or covered my sisters head to toe in your lipstick.
Thank you for helping me appreciate that although roses are pretty, there are other flowers that can make you feel a little happier just by having them around.
Thank you for being the best mom I could have asked for. I love you so much!!
For Dad
Thank you for playing softball with me even after I broke your toe on accident.
Thank you for always taking the time to bring me gifts back from your work trips.
Thank you for waking up at 5 am to drive me to seminary every day after staying up past midnight the night before helping me with homework.
Thank you for buying me my dream prom dress when there were already suitable prom dresses hanging up at home.
Thank you for introducing me to country music and making me bait my own hook.
Thank you for telling me I was pretty whether I was in my soccer shorts or my church clothes.
Thank you for taking me to work with you and for our Biscuit and Gravy breakfasts.
Thank you for making me homemade milkshakes and putting them in “fancy glasses”.
Thank you for spending time after work gardening with me.
Thank you for being nice to the boys I date and for making sure they treat me right.
Thank you for being able to play the piano so well and showing that manly men can love music, too.
Thank you for serving our country even though it meant you had to spend a lot of time away from our family.
Thank you for our Sonic and Dairy Queen trips for ice cream after basketball and softball games.
Thank you for always coming to find me when I cried in my bed and talking to me until I felt better. I loved how you would carry me up to the living room after our talks!
Thank you for being the best dad ever! I love you so much!!
Love, MaLee
This is the sweetest post to your parents! They sound incredible. I hope they have a wonderful anniversary.
Hi Amber! Thank you for the well wishes. Our parents are amazing. We got really lucky. 🙂
What a wonderful way to celebrate such important people in your life. ? Happy anniversary to them and may we all strive to have such a positive impact on our children!
Happy anniversary!! What a sweet way to lift them up on their special day❤️
This is so beautiful! What a wonderful tribute to your mom and dad. <3
Hi Terri! Thank you very much. We can never do enough to repay our great parents, but we try!
This is so sweet! What a blessed family you have! Wonderful parents are the best!
Hi Jeanette Renee! They truly are the best. Thank goodness for awesome parents!
This is the best thing I have ever read. I love it when parents are appreciated. No matter how old we get they still want to take care of us so appreciating them like this is amazing.
Hi Jeanelle! We are so grateful for your comment! Our parents are so amazing and we can never repay them for everything. But we hope things like this give them an idea of how much we love them.
What a beautiful tribute to your parents. It is so wonderful to see how much love your entire family has for each other.
This will be the perfect gift for all parents. This make me tears. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Ann Reeba! Thank you for your comment! we hoped this would reach some other parents out there as well and help them understand how much their children appreciate them, even if they do not always say it.
Happy Anniversary to your parents! They sound like such kind and loving people! Wishing them many more great years!
Hi Jessica! Thank you so much for your well wishes for my parents. They are the best. 🙂
This was such a sweet post! It is always nice to see people who have been married for long periods of time! I hope it is an awesome year and many more!
Hi Jessi! Thank you, we love seeing long marriages, too! It’s been a blessing to see my parents’ marriage and know that these years together have been the great beginning of an eternal marriage.
What a precious precious post. I’m sure these feelings were more pronounced when you became a mom yourself. I feel the same way
Hi Deepika! I have not had the opportunity to be a mom yet myself but I cannot wait till that day. Remember that your children will appreciate all that you do for them, even if they don’t say it as they grow up!
Thanks MaLee
That is so sweet both you making this post and their story. They are a couple to take example from
Hi Lyosha! Thank you for your kind words. They are a great example to me! I hope to be as great a parent as they have been.
This is so so beautiful and ofcourse true. There are millions of reasons to thank our parents. We are what they made us! Great words!
Hi Aashima! You are so right. It’s easy to forget how much of an impact our parents have on us. It’s important to stop and remember and appreciate them and all they do for us!
What a very sweet post for your parents on their anniversary. I hope they have a wonderful one!
Hello! Thank you for your well-wishes! We got really lucky with our parents. 🙂
This is so incredibly sweet! What a great idea for a post ♥️
Hi Yuli! Thank you. 🙂 We wanted to give back in a small way to the parents who have given us everything.
This was such an incredible read. Your parent sound like amazing people!
Thank you so much! They really are. I wish that everyone could be blessed with parents as loving and amazing as mine!
This is so touching. The best thing we can give back to your parents is loving them back everyday
Hi Anchal! I love the way you put that. The very least they deserve is our love. 🙂
Our parents do so much for us. This is the sweetest.
Hi Sondra! They really do. The older I get the more I realize just how much my parents have sacrificed for me. Parents are saints.
this was super sweet! it is so refreshing to see a couple that has lasted so long and that they have a child who cares so much for them to write such an amazing tribute!
Hi Seanna! Thank you for your comment. I have been so blessed to see my parents’ marriage and to be their daughter. They are such a great example to me!
This is such a great post to your parents! They sound amazing! I hope they have a wonderful anniversary.
Hi Claudia! Thank you for the well-wishes. They really are the best parents.
This is so sweet and how your wrote it. I am sure your parents loved your article when you wrote it.
Hi Cynthia! Thank you. I think they enjoyed reading it. 🙂
Such a beautifully worded tribute to each of your parents! Congratulations on their anniversary, and for future ones to come!
Hi Adstanfield! Thank you for your response and well-wishes! I look forward to their future anniversaries as well and hope to be half the parents they have been for me.
Awe, this is the sweetest post and tribute to your parents! I love all the pictures too! So sweet.
So incredibly touching. So much love and depth here. Brought tears to my eyes. Absolutely beautiful.