WATCH: A tearful Jimmy Fallon pays an emotional and dignified tribute to his late mother

Well said, Jimmy Fallon.

Jimmy Fallon returned to his late night TV show on Monday for the first time following the death of his mother, Gloria, who passed away at the age of 68 earlier this month. Fallon cancelled his NBC show for a week to spend some time with his family in the aftermath of his mother’s death and on his return on Monday, he opened his show by explaining his absence before paying her a beautiful tribute. Describing his mother as “the best audience”, “the one I was always trying to make laugh” and “such a fan of the show and everything I did,” Fallon recounted a ritual the pair of them shared during trips to the shops when Fallon and his sister were children. “When we were little, my mum would walk us to the store - me and my sister - and we would hold hands,” Fallon said while holding back tears. “And she would squeeze my hand three times and say, 'I love you,' and I would squeeze back, 'I love you too.' "Last week I was in the hospital, at her side, and I grabbed her hand and I squeezed 'I love you,' and I just knew we were in trouble.” “But I feel so grateful to be able to do this every single night and I’m very appreciative of all the support from all of you that my family received over the past week,” he continued. “We’re going to continue to work really hard to bring some light and some laughter into the world. "Thank you for watching, thank you for helping my family recover from this loss. Mom, I’ll never stop trying to make you laugh. I love you.” You can watch the tribute in full below. https://twitter.com/FallonTonight/status/930296134966366208