So, if there is ever a detail that you feel you can’t get out of your head and you want to share it, please share with me. We live in a world where people are consistently afraid of feeling shame — so many of us make life choices to avoid the feeling at all costs.

The unfortunate thing about it is that there’s no one to tell you when you’re doing great or offer a little encouragement when you need it.Every morning, when I dropped him off, I saw him interact with his friend and it made me so happy and proud. Veteran gardeners may already have their garden planned, but they always need fertilizer and bug protection for their plants. But for a while, I started to feel like my overt friendliness and general openness to people was a bad thing.

I can honestly say that you are not just my bestie’s mom —you are like a mother to me and [Name] is like my [sister/brother]. These kinds of answers made me feel like they just wanted to hear that I was doing okay, and that anything else was too much for them to get into. I could never thank you enough for everything you do, from raising a wonderful daughter and best friend and putting up with our terrible teenaged years I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Nothing can prepare you for what it will feel like, but one aspect I was particularly surprised by was just how many uncomfortable, awkward, and sometimes straight up offensive conversations I would have with the people in my life after it happened.You have been through the awkward stages of my life and watched us grow up together and shaped us into who we are today.

I hope that when I have children, I can be as wonderful as a second mother to their friends as you have been to me. Me and my ex had just broken up and I felt like a prisoner in Kuurne, the place where I lived at the time.But here’s the thing: the simple fact that you are thinking about all this means that you ARE doing all of this right. I'm sure I would've found another best friend, and her mother would've been an amazing woman (most likely) in her own right, but it would've been nothing compared to the life I've had thanks to you two. I could never find a better friend than [Name] and I’m so lucky to share some beautiful memories with you. Right after my Mom died, I was sad, angry, frustrated, nostalgic, strangely thankful, then sad, then angry again, you name it — I felt it all, usually all within one day. But she also describes another relationship… the one forged between her and her best friend’s mother, and it starts with an apology.

I had a fear of rejection because I had just gone through it, and it was then that I thought to myself, “Well, the worst thing that could happen is that she can ignore me and pretend she did not see it and life would go on.It turns out that we are good “roots” for each other, lending our hearts and ourselves as branches of support in any way we can. She's kind, smart, funny, and I owe almost all of that to you for being such a great mom and person. A thank you to the woman who raised my best friend and made her the greatest person I know and a thank you for being there for me through every step of my life.