Sylvia

I used to call you Mommy Jack in the Box

When I was a kid in my own little world

I’d sit in your room while your programs were on

Asking you to translate every Tagalog word

I know I probably drove you crazy back then

A hardheaded child who couldn't understand

The weight of the world that you held in your hand

Now I'm thirty years old and my vision is clear

I see the sacrifices that you made for me here

When you didn't have to, you stepped in to raise me

You gave me a home and the strength that has saved me

Sylvia, we aren't the type to say it out loud

But I love you, respect you to the max, and I'm proud

Of the woman you are and the mother you've been

I wouldn't change you for anyone else in the end

I look back on the miles from Rhode Island to home

San Diego bound, stopping in Arkansas

Dirt bikes and riding my quad in the sun

Hiding our shopping bags from Jay in the hall

I was too young to see the trials you went through

The quiet emotions you kept out of view

Through the heartbreak and changes, you held us together

Now I'm thirty years old and my vision is clear

I see the sacrifices that you made for me here

When you didn't have to, you stepped in to raise me

You gave me a home and the strength that has saved me

Sylvia, we aren't the type to say it out loud

But I love you, respect you to the max, and I'm proud

Of the woman you are and the mother you've been

I wouldn't change you for anyone else in the end

When I call your phone and it goes to your voicemail

I still hear my voice from when I was a kid

It reminds me of all of the grace that you gave me

And everything you and Jay selflessly did

I was rebellious, just wanting my mom

Wishing that Shella was where she belonged

But you were the rock that I always leaned on

I understand now, and my vision is clear

I see the sacrifices that you made for me here

When it wasn't your job, you stepped in to raise me

You gave me a childhood, a life that has shaped me

Sylvia, we aren't the type to say it out loud

So I'm singing the words that I'm feeling right now

I love you, respect you to the max, and I'm proud

Of the woman you are and the mother you've been

I wouldn't change you for anyone else in the end