M-O-T-H-E-R

M is for the million things she gave me,      
O means only that she's growing old,         
T is for the tears she shed to save me,       
H is for her heart of purest gold;                
E is for her eyes, with love-light shining,     
R means right, and right she'll always be,   

Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER",
A word that means the world to me.

--Howard Johnson (c. 1915)

--Victor Hugo

All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother.  I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me.  They have clung to me all my life.

--Abraham Lincoln

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.

--Washington Irving

A mother had a slender, small body, but a large heart -- a heart so large that everybody's grief and everybody's joy found welcome in it, and hospitable accommodation.

--Mark Twain

The mother loves her child most divinely, not when she surrounds him with comfort and anticipates his wants, but when she resolutely holds him to the highest standards and is content with nothing less than his best.

--Hamilton Wright Mabie

This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at soccer games Friday night instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see my goal?" they could say, "Of course, wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's OK honey, Mommy's here."

This is for all the mothers of Kosovo who fled in the night and can't find their children.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and made them homes.

For all the mothers of the victims of the Colorado shooting, and the mothers of the murderers. For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 a.m. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby? The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?

I think so.
So this is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn't.

This is for reading "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then reading it again."Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who mess up. Who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair and stomp their feet like a tired 2 year old who wants ice cream before dinner.

This is for all the mothers who taught their daughters to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

For all the mothers who bite their lips-sometimes until they bleed-when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

Who lock themselves in the bathroom when babies keep crying and won't stop.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home.

This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children's graves.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

This is for all the mothers who sent their sons to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse and hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without.

Author Unknown

Start a new Mother's Day tradition this year by treating Mom to afternoon tea at home. Give her the gift of a beautiful, relaxing afternoon spent with you, as you chat and nibble savory sandwiches and tantalizing tarts between sips of perfectly brewed tea. If you have friends with mothers who live nearby, why not join forces and turn the occasion into a full-fledged tea party!

A tea party should include a selection of both savory and sweet edibles. These can be just about anything you like, but it's important to remember that whatever you serve should be able to be eaten neatly and daintily with the fingers or a fork. That means no steaks, no soup, and no sloppy sauces! In the realm of savory morsels, just a few of the options to choose from are mini quiches, sausage rolls, tartlet shells stuffed with chicken salad, and finger sandwiches. To make finger sandwiches, cut the crusts off the bread, fill the sandwich, then cut each one into 3 or 4 strips for easy nibbling. Some favorite teatime sandwich fillings are: cucumber and cream cheese; watercress and mayonnaise; sharp cheddar cheese, sliced tomato, and mayonnaise; tuna salad; and smoked salmon with herbed cream cheese. Take care not to overfill the sandwiches; you should be able to pick them up gracefully with a few fingers!

An assortment of sweet dainties is characteristic of a proper afternoon tea, so feel free to choose several of Mom's favorites. Tender scones with clotted cream and blackcurrant jam are always a welcome addition to the tea table. In addition, you can include an array of cookies, petits fours, fruit tartlets, cake, bonbons, and miniature pies of any variety.

Got a muffin pan? Then you can turn any pie or quiche recipe into teeny tiny tartlets! Just cut out the crust in the appropriate sizes with a round biscuit cutter, then gently press a circle of dough into each muffin tin. Fill each one no more than 2/3 full, then bake at the recommended temperature. Remember, though, that your little pie-lets will cook much more quickly than a full-size pie, so begin checking them after 5 minutes.