I challenge you to find someone who doesn’t love my mom. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

She is the kindest, most generous and overall best person I know. Over the years I’ve been suspicious that some of my best friends like her more than they like me. One of them regularly admits it.

But that’s okay. I can’t blame him. Everything about her is charming and infectious. When she worked at my middle school, all the girls flocked to her. Consequently, she always had the hottest gossip. She usually knew who I was dating almost before I did.

People. Love. My. Mom. They confide in her, they trust her, they admire her.

And they should, she’s an angel. You think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not. Her closet is overflowing with clothes, so it took a bit of digging around, but I long ago concluded there isn’t a single skeleton in the damn thing.

At first it was frustrating to learn how perfect my mom really is, but at some point it became enlightening. I saw in her what the human character could be, and I started working toward that. She is responsible for most of my better qualities. She has taught me commitment and responsibility, compassion and respect, and so much more.

Am I jealous of how naturally these virtues come to her? Maybe a little. Will I ever reach her level? Highly doubtful. But however short I fall, she is my target.

We’ve established that everyone else loves my mom, and why they inevitably have to. But I love her too, so let’s talk about that.

We have thousands of memories together, but what springs to mind is just all the time spent sitting in our living room, I on one couch and she on the other, talking about life. Or not talking at all, simply enjoying each other’s company.

These days, this is one of the things I miss most when I’m at college. I’ve been independent all my life, but more and more I’ve come to appreciate having someone who is always there to support me, always fighting for me and doing everything in her power to help me succeed.

I don’t consider myself a cynical journalist, but it’s still easy to see the negativity in the world. No matter how bad things seem, though, I need only remember it is still a world in which a person like my mom can exist.