Dear Mom and Dad,
I suppose I did not realize
Just how much you gave for me.
Every minute you relinquished
So my childhood could be free.
And now that I am older,
I can finally, plainly see,
You were willing to give everything.
And you gave it all to me.

When I was just an infant,
You surrendered all your sleep.
You woke at any hour
To give me food to eat.
When I was but a toddler,
You taught me how to love,
To treat others with compassion,
And to trust our God above.
And even through the teenage years,
When I claimed I hated you,
You never would give up on me,
You helped me to push through.
And now I'm off to college,
It's time to leave the nest.
But before I go, a simple truth:
As parents, you're the best.

I do now truly realize
Just how much you gave for me.
Every dream that you relinquished
Because parenthood isn't free.
And now I'm finally older,
And now I plainly see:
You always gave up everything.
And you gave it up for me.