The greatest gift. Thank you, mom!

What you may not know is that the first 17 years of my life, my mom was addicted to alcohol and prescription pills.

It's the way God wanted it to be in my life, as hard as this is to share - it's the truth and while we may now want certain things in life to happen. Sometimes they do for a specific reason.

Everything happens for us, not to us.

Mom is now sober completely sober and has turned out to be the person I needed in my life. She's a beacon of determination and what getting your life together can be like.

She got clean just before my 18th birthday. Those last 6 months in the house were nothing like the first 17 years. I am thankful for it.

The top lessons I learned most from her:

• Is there's no time like the present.
• There's no such thing as too late.
• Always give one more hug, and I love you.

Life is too short to hold grudges and I hold no resentment for the way life has turned out. It's made me who I am today.

Mom, thank you for being you!

And happy mother's day to all the mothers out there. You're truly special and around here we know you all have a backbone like no other.

Keep pushing forward my friend!

Much love,

Justin W.