My stepmom is a woman with a heart of gold. When my dad got divorced and met her she took me into her hands as if I was one of her own. That is one huge role for someone to do, having her in my life now for 10 years has been one amazing experience.

Vanessa took a huge role by officially becoming my stepmom on August 1, 2020, but that doesn't hide the fact she stepped in for ten years as a parent. What amazes me the most is that she didn't even have children of her own but was able to willingly take me and my brother as hers. She knows me well enough to call a night just for me and her to talk out my problems.

With my ups and downs, she stuck around to tell me how to get through it. Even though it became so hard on her that was no reason for her at all to have to walk away. She has always been so patient with me and that's truly what makes her so amazing. She always wanted to show me and my brother new things and make life more outgoing. Never a dull moment with her in our family.

Vanessa has always been an understanding and open-minded listener. When I had questions or just wanted to talk she would sit and listen to me and give me feedback on anything and everything I needed to know. One thing I took into consideration when I was younger she started telling me to keep my chin up and I use that every day. It tells me I can get through it and just need to push through the pain, to this day I still think of her when I'm in pain. Whenever I am needing to talk to someone my go-to is her. She knows me and all that I have gone through. She always sits and listens throughout everything I say and has good advice to give to me.

All in all, she has loved me since the day I met her. She hesitated, I am so very thankful for her and what she did for me, my brother, and my dad, and she gave me another little brother. I remember the first time I met her, I had a long day of daycare and I was looking forward to my dad picking me up so I could go home and play with my dolls. To my surprise, my dad picked me up on the four-wheeler, got home, and walked in by the back door, looked around my dad to see a gorgeous girl sitting on the couch. I was so nervous I grabbed onto my dad's blue jean pant legs and kept peeking around him so I could get another look at her. It is safe to say a woman with all that power is able to hold all of the others' problems and still be able to keep her sanity. I get why she is hard on me,  I am thankful for that. See told you she is a woman with a heart of gold. I used to think she accidentally gave birth to me on the stairs, must be the reason why they called her my stepmom. Okay, I am joking.