The most rewarding part of being a mom is watching my son grow into a confident and caring person. Seeing him navigate the world and still be himself and know who he is brings me so much pride. Knowing that I am helping him shape his world into what he wants it to be is everything I could hope for. When I see him play sports and he looks to me when he's is proud, emotional, upset and he finds comfort in me looking back at him to reassure him that I am right there, that is the best feeling.

I hope I will never forget any of our memories. The memory that is most clear is when he won a character counts award at school and he had no idea that he won it (the teachers only told the parents). Parents were invited to the assembly and it was a surprise. My sons name got called and he was shocked the whole way to accept it. He turns to the crowd and I make eye contact with him, his eyes watered and he yelled "I didn't know you were coming!!" with the biggest smile on his face.

I would put that money in a high yield savings account and let my son have the money when he turned 18 to start his life. By then I will have given him the skills that he needs to make decisions and hopefully use it to travel, start a business, or have a down payment on a home!