In this essay I will discuss why I am thankful and all that we share together. In particular, I will talk about my mother who is the love of my life.

I thank God every day for her life and for her being there for my brother and I. We share a very close relationship and can talk about anything.

As a single parent she works hard to provide for my brother and I and has given us a well-rounded upbringing and stable environment to live in.

I am thankful because unlike many parents today, my mother puts in time with us. She is involved and takes interest in our lives both at home and school in our academic work and extra-curricular activities.

What I admire most is that although we are teenagers she attends all of our meetings for those activities because she wants what is best for us.

I think this is one of the most important things a parent can do for their child — just to be there. Many teenagers my age get into trouble because they have too much time on their own and they are bored.

I think that if their parents were around they would never attempt a lot of what they experiment with. I can remember my grandmother saying: “All children want and need is attention.”

Unfortunately, many parents today can’t put in as much time as they would like because many times they are working two or three jobs. This is what I am thankful for — my mother makes a special effort to put in the time for us.

This past summer my mother told my brother and I that we needed to find summer jobs. Although we worked for different companies, my mother made sure we were dropped off on time before she went to her own job. My mother always says: “Make your time, it’s important.”

For this I am very thankful, because she is teaching is a valuable lesson — teaching us by example and preparing us for the future. We know that we will not always have her to depend on, but what we will have is a good foundation.

Raising two sons on her own has not been easy, especially when we don’t do things the first time we are asked. Nevertheless, my mother does not give up on us. Instead she pushes us to make better lives for ourselves. For this I am truly thankful.

So I salute my mother for all her efforts to make her sons responsible young men.

She believes it is important to expose us to positive role models and for us to participate in individual and team sports because sometimes in life you only have yourself to rely on to get a job done and other times it’s important to work as a member of a team.

Either way, I think we will be prepared thanks to my mother for all the work she has done. For this I am truly thankful.