Jay Simpson: Congrats, Mom: Right time for a big move

May 17—Let me take time to speak on my mother.

If you've been following me the past few years, you know a little about our relationship and journey. My mother and I don't always see eye to eye and sometimes we fall out with each other, but at the end of the day, that's my mom — and I love her to death.

If it wasn't for her, there would be no me and my kids don't exist. She's the one that raised me and sacrificed so much so my brother and I could live a decent life. We didn't have the best life, but without her hard work and sacrifices, it would have been a lot tougher.

My mother has always wanted to move out of Champaign for as long as I can remember. There have been times where we've found places in other states and packed everything up to move, but she just didn't have the courage or confidence to make the leap, so we ended up staying here.

Champaign is her comfort zone. It's where she was born and raised, and majority of our family still resides here, so that's where all of her support came from. It would have been hard on her to move somewhere else at the time, and I respected it.

Things have changed. My mother accepted a job in a new state and just found her a nice house to complement the move. I couldn't be more happy for her.

She deserves it.

Years of hard work are finally paying off, and it's time for her to enjoy her life to the fullest.

My brother and I are grown men now with lives and families of our own, so we will be fine in this world. It's time for us to start taking care of her. She's done her time and paid her dues; now she gets to reap the benefits.

I'm so proud of my mother. If you know her and see her around before she moves away, please congratulate her on the hard work and future endeavors. I appreciate you all.