To:

To Dad,
You're my parent, guardian and mentor. But you are so much more while being this. You are also my best friend, someone who I can talk about LITERALLY anything with, and someone who knows my sense of humor better than I know it. You can always make me laugh when it is needed, but keep me in line at the same time. You have my back 24/7, and I never have to worry that you'll abandon me for someone else. You've taken care of me singlehandedly for 6 years now, and I can't thank you more. You've given me a great education and helped me pass 7 college courses- since I was ELEVEN.

While you were doing this, you also brought up my sister, which is a task in and of itself. But you stick through it. I love you Dad, and I look forward to having many more laughs and making more memories with you in the future. Merry Christmas, I love you.

To Ashleigh,
You're my sister. And I love you, even when I get ticked off at you. You know this and I know this, and we still yell at each other and squabble. 2015 is coming soon, and next year, I want to bond with you more. I try to guide you, but no one seems to like me doing that so I really don't know. However, if you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here for you. You're going to be 5 soon and I'm quite honestly amazed- I still remember holding you in the hospital when you were first born. I never knew what a little amazing handful you would become. Just kidding, just kidding- I really do love you and I don't know what I'd do without you. Who else would be there to wake me up by screaming in my ear, to have sleepovers with me when the power goes out, to keep me up talking until 5:00? Who else would be able to always be there for me, and come to me for advice and to vent out?

You have a level of weirdness that competes with my own, you have a unique sense of humor, and you are so caring and sweet that it literally kills me. I love you Ashleigh- Merry Christmas.

To Grandma,
I love you more than you realize- and I think you know that. Yes, we get annoyed at each other at times, but I value knowing that we can always make up and pretend it never happened (even if, in some instances, it takes us a few days). You're there for me when I need to talk, to vent, and to complain, and you take it all in without judgement- and I'd easily do the same for you. As 2015 approaches, I'd like to clear up whatever problems we have with each other so we can go into the new year free of... annoyance. Next year, I'd like to focus on becoming more in tune with each other so that we don't scuffle so much. It CAN be done, we've done it before, and we WILL do it again. I think it'll help out everyone, not just us.

You're caring and sweet in general, and you only get annoyed at me because deep down you care about me. I realize this, I really do, but in the blink of an eye I forget it and I need to learn to remember. I'll make an effort to keep things more tidy, and also to help out around the house. Hopefully that will give you your much deserved rest. I love you. Merry Christmas.

Maddie