#16 Let "distance make the heart grow fonder"

I'm a Momma's girl. Always have been, and always will be. So naturally, being six hours away from her hasn't been a walk in the park for me.

Last weekend was my sorority's Mom's Weekend, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Finals are swiftly approaching, the weather-until today-made me believe it was already summer, and my Facebook and Twitter feeds have been exploding with last day of school and "Going home!" posts.

Ugh. We have two weeks left. But that's exactly why I appreciated her visit; she's the best motivator I know.

Take last night for example. I'm going to be real for a second and admit that I had a bit of a stereotypically girly, emotion-driven breakdown. I'm stressed about finals. But even more than that, I miss my friends and my family, and thinking about how I'm going to be away from them for almost the entire summer makes me really sad. And whenever I'm feeling like crap, I text my Mom. Thank god I didn't call her because I would have been sobbing in the middle of the student center basement.

She sent me a super long response that was everything I needed to hear. She reminded me that I will get to see everyone a couple times, and that people will visit. She told me she's thankful that I'm staying the summer to save us money, and that she's proud of me. And honestly, that's the best thing a parent can say next to "I love you".

Mom and I enjoying ourselves at a friend's Christmas party last December

There's just something special about my Mom that makes me get so emotional when she says these things. I can't even begin to describe it, but she's just that one person that always knows how to make me feel better, and I'm eternally grateful to have her in my life.

So as you can assume, I was ecstatic when she finally got in around 2 last Friday. We went to dinner, to a comedy show, shopping in the Ozarks and out to dinner again, but I probably could have sat in the hotel all weekend and talked and I still would have had a great time. I don't know if it's because I see her so little, but I could talk to my mom for a whole day straight. We just get each other, and nothing is ever forced between us. I trust her and she trusts me, and I think that being in college has really made that apparent.

As cheesy as it sounds, we're even closer now that I'm a state away. We talk everyday and if I don't hear from her for a little while it seems like something's not right. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

So, don't feel embarrassed if you need to talk to Mom. Or Dad, or Grandma, or your best friend. Whoever it may be that you have the closest relationship with, chances are that when you no longer get to see them everyday, you're going to realize how much they mean to you. It's like we go the first eighteen years of our life spending each day with the same people, and then suddenly they're not there anymore. And it's kind of scary. But it doesn't mean that they can't "be there" for you.

I have an extremely close knit group of friends from back home that I know I can call anytime. No questions asked, if it's 2:00AM and I'm crying on the other side of the phone, I know that they're going to drop what they're doing-even if it was sleeping-and calm me down. And there are not enough thank yous in the world to express how grateful I am to have them. The same goes for Mom. So don't let those relationships disintegrate when your friends and family aren't physically there for you anymore. Relationships like that are the most precious gifts that we receive in life, and they should never go unappreciated or forgotten.