Motherhood.

It’s a word that conjures emotions that range from warmth and comfort to chaos and pain. Motherhood is for many women the most important role of their lives, no matter how successful their careers; how rich or deep their marriages; how fulfilling their roles in the community.

It is a role that demands complete surrender – to emotions, to another’s needs, to hope and love, to disappointment, to fear, to laughter, to indescribable joy, to moments filled with the charms only childhood can create.

And as we celebrate Mother’s Day, we give pause to honor those women who choose motherhood – our mothers, our grandmothers, our “second mothers” and those whom we love like mothers.

We’ll make them breakfast in bed, bring them corsages to wear at church, take them to lunch and celebrate with cards and gifts, from hand-crafted to elaborate and grand. It’s our way of expressing appreciation for all that mothers do each day, from kisses for boo-boos to taxi-driving services to dinners cooked and stories shared. Our mothers teach us our most important lessons, from manners to responsibility; unconditional love to respect; honesty to loyalty; and they do it often as much through their actions as their words, knowing all the while they are preparing us to eventually leave their nest, to stand on our own and to live and flourish in this world.

Their jobs, while never done, are never easy.

And this annual tribute to mother’s is a small pittance of an honor, in some ways, but most mothers would eschew any additional fuss.

Motherhood, after all, is what they do. And, if most were honest, they’d tell you it’s a blessing for which they are thankful each and every day.