'You've always had the whole world figured out': JJ Watt reads letter to mom for Mother's Day

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Although Mother's Day is over, a son or daughter's love for their mom is everlasting.

ESPN shared a heartwarming moment for Mother's Day as J.J. Watt read a letter to his mother, Connie Watt.

J.J. didn't know that his mother was sitting in another room as ESPN asked him to read the letter out loud. Connie was not aware that her son wrote a letter.

J.J. started off by mentioning an old photo at his mother's house of her holding him when he was a child. He said he always walks by it when he's home, never really paying much attention to it.

"The last time I was home, I walked up those stairs and saw that same picture I'd seen so many times before. This time, I stopped by it and I really looked at it," Watt read.

He said the first thing he noticed about that photo was that his mother hasn't aged a single day and that she is still as "beautiful and energetic as that woman in the photo holding that little boy with the beach-blonde mullet."

"The next thought in my mind is that you were only 21-years-old in that photo. You were 21-yeas-old, working and raising a family every single day. And here I am, 28-years-old still trying to figure the world out," he said.

Watt thanked his mother for teaching him and his brothers, Derek and TJ, to never give up.

"You've always been the most kind loving, passionate, hardest working person that I've ever known. You and dad taught Derek, TJ and I that we could accomplish anything that we wanted to in this world and you whole-hardheartedly believed in us, even when nobody else did. Especially when nobody else did," Watt read.

He went on to say that his mother has and will always be an inspiration to him for raising a family and being an incredible mother.

"I'll never be able to properly put into words how much I love you and how appreciative I am for everything you've done for our family. All I can say is thank you. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your care. Thank you for being the best mom that anyone could ever ask for. While I no longer have the mullet, I will always be your little boy," Watt said.

Connie walked in as he finished reading the letter and the two embraced.

ESPN recorded a series of videos with athletes reading their letters about their mothers.

Report a typo to the ABC13 staff