This Father's Day was my fourth without my father. After my parents' divorce, my father left the country, fleeing alimony responsibilities and us. In his absence, my mom became both father and mother. My mom had always been the one in charge, if unofficially. She took us to doctor appointments, drove us to school and club events, and paid the utility bills and mortgage payments when we still had a house. She held me as I cried when I had to change schools halfway through eighth grade after our home was foreclosed. She cooked and cleaned, all while working full-time in a chicken processing plant. Truthfully, she had been a single parent long before the divorce, but now it was only her paycheck keeping my family afloat. The divorce was finalized in the critical juncture between junior and senior year of high school, in the season of college applications and financial aid documents, and amidst the pandemic. As I stressed about navigating the process as a child of newly divorced parents and completed my online classes, my mother ensured we remained afloat financially; she kept food on the table. She countered my anxious, negative spirals about the future with compassionate affirmation and funny stories from her time studying in Mexico. She remained steadfast in supporting my educational goals, even as I wavered about going to college now that she was the only breadwinner. "You're going to college. We will figure out a way," she would tell me. Her conviction in me and my future gave me the courage to pursue my goals. I applied - and was accepted - to my dream school, Emory University. When I walked across the stage during my high school graduation to give my valedictorian, my first words were words of love and gratitude to the mother who made that moment possible. Growing up, my mom would tell stories of never having enough food to eat when she was in school. Now that I am in college, my mom ensured I never went hungry. She would fill my fridge with home-cooked meals and groceries whenever she visited. She would lend a compassionate ear to my academic struggle. Sometimes, she would do little more than call and say nothing but keep me company as I studied into the night or until our battery ran out. Now, as a college student embarking on the second half of her degree track in engineering, which will prove to be more financially demanding than I had initially anticipated, my mom remains constant in her belief and support of me, reiterating the promise she made to me before: "We will figure out a way." This past Father's Day was the fourth without a father, but I feel like it has been longer. The day before, I bought a mug. A gaudy thing - just her style - and perfect for her morning coffee. It was early in the morning when I brought it to her. "Happy Father's Day," I said, "to the best mom in the world."