DETROIT – One month before I turned two years old, my mother stood me up on a chair behind the pulpit at church. She sat at the piano and played "Jesus Loves Me" while I sang. It was my first solo and the first of many times that my mother accompanied me singing a song.
She pushed me to perform and I thrived in front of an audience, singing, dancing, playing the piano, the clarinet, the oboe, acting in plays and competing in sports. She was the first person to take me out on our driveway (which was made of rock and hard to dribble on) and play HORSE on our rusty basketball hoop that she nailed to the garage. She was at every sporting event, every performance and every recital growing up. She was and still is my biggest cheerleader.
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My mother is the epitome of strength, dignity, class and humility. She has overcome the hardest challenges and trials in her life, all while raising me as a single-mother. She constantly encouraged me to get my education because "no one can ever take your degree away."
Without my mother, I wouldn't be where I am today. She is my best friend and I am so thankful that God created me for her and her for me. So on this Mother's Day, I say thank you to the one that raised me, the one that mothered me, the one that guided me, and the one that loves me, in spite of all my flaws and shortcomings. My mother will always be there for me and for that, I'm eternally grateful.