13 Wonderful Things Girls Only Appreciate About Their Mothers Once They’re Independent Adults(ish)

The teen years are never easy on parents or teens. Mother-daughter relationships can be especially rocky. Thankfully, as girls grow to become thriving, independent adults, the relationships with their mothers often undergo drastic changes.

Here are 13 things girls eventually appreciate about their moms once their teen years are over:

1. Their valuable advice. It turns out that advice from mom wasn’t so lame after all. As daughters move into adulthood, they discover that their mothers were spot on about most things.

2. Their infinite patience. Well, almost infinite. In spite of the outbursts, obnoxiousness and assorted teen phases and obsessions, moms remain surprisingly patient throughout the drama.

3. Their endless support. Mothers have a natural bias towards their children and they’re their kid’s biggest fans. Such unfailing support does wonders for one’s self-esteem.

4. Their cooking lessons. No matter how much teen daughters complain about helping mom out in the kitchen, those cooking skills will come in handy when they run their own homes.

5. Their strength. Mothers are a bastion of strength. Regardless of how tired they are or how crappy their day was, they always find the strength to take care of everyone.

6. Their sacrifices. Only when they’re older will daughters understand how much their mothers sacrificed to ensure they lived a good, comfortable life.

7. Their nagging. One day daughters will appreciate that mom’s nagging was done out of love and that they were not being annoying or irritating but caring and loving.

8. The tough decisions. All decisions mothers make are made with their kid’s best interests at heart although teen daughters might not see it that way at first.

9. Moms are multifaceted individuals. At some point, girls finally recognize that their mothers have their own hobbies, interests and lives outside their families.

10. They have flaws. As they grow up, daughters become aware that their mothers are only human, therefore flawed and imperfect. They have baggage and make mistakes and that’s OK.

11. They sometimes tell unpleasant truths. So mom said that boy wasn’t good enough and those friends were bad company. These uncomfortable truths might have been the source of conflict, but eventually daughters come to understand their mothers weren’t being unnecessarily mean. They were just giving their kid a much-needed reality check.

12. The lessons they taught. From styling their hair, relating to others, driving and everything in between, girls come to the realization that the lessons from their mothers have made them the successful women they are today.

13. Their unconditional love. This is perhaps the greatest thing girls are ultimately grateful for- that no matter how far they go or how old they get, their mothers will always love them.

Pushing boundaries and clashing with parents is part of growing up. In due course, most daughters come around, gain a greater appreciation for their mothers and are finally able to connect on a whole new level as adults. And that is a beautiful thing to witness.