They say the bond between a mother and her child is unworldly. It’s stronger than the strongest force in nature, and we’ve all heard stories of moms who miraculously lift cars from their trapped children, or jump through burning buildings to save their babies.

I think that the bond between my mom and I is even stronger than superhuman strength, because she can basically read my mind.

This is both a blessing and a curse.

Our relationship is so strong, because I get every last smoldering ash of my fire from her. She’s passed down her intense road rage, her passion for saving animals from the side of the road, and her love of green tea/expensive foods. Essentially, I am a miniature version of my mother, as her Facebook friends note on every picture of us.

I don’t have an issue with this at all, because my mom is the coolest person I know, and our closeness makes every conversation interesting to say the least. Most of the time, she knows what I’m going to say or do before I even do it; hence the mind reading.

But some days, when God plays the wild card and one of us wakes up in a high-strung mood, our words become unpredictable, especially to those around us. My brothers and dad will earnestly back this statement.

I woke in one of these moods today, and blessed my family with my presence around 8 am. After complaining, grumbling, and criticizing for a few minutes, I left to deal with the cloudy mood by myself. Usually this solves the problem, and I relax a little, but not today.

When the rain clouds turned into a full on hurricane, and I returned hours later with sobbing tear streaks, my immediate instinct was to find my mom. I needed her to comfort me, listen to me, and tell me how everything would be alright, words only a mother can make believable.

By the time I did get to her, I was in absolute hysterics, and couldn’t even speak. She dropped what she was doing, and gasped, “Oh my gosh, honey. I’m so sorry!” She hugged me, and continued, “You hit a dog, didn’t you?”

I was being so overly dramatic that my mother’s first immediate actual thought was that I had run over a dog. Imagine that.

The point of the story is not that I am an emotionally unstable teenager, it’s that some days, no matter how bad your situation is, someone out there is crying even harder than you are. Though she said it by accident, my mom made me realize that things could be a lot worse, and I could have murdered a family pet.

After clearing the air and confirming the fact that I had not hit a dog, nor any other animal, she told me everything would be okay either way. My mom sure does have a way with words, and everyday I am thankful for her superhuman wisdom.

Sincerely yours,

Maddie Rheinheimer