Dear Readers: Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms in the world. Please remember them today -- and every day. Each year, we receive dozens of poems from readers who ask us to print them on Mother's Day. Here are a few for your enjoyment:

They were lovely, all the mothers

of the days of long ago,

With their gentle, quiet faces

And their hair as white as snow.

They were middle-aged at forty,

at fifty donned lace caps

And at sixty clung to shoulder shawls

and loved their little naps.

But I love the modern mother

who can share in all our joys,

And who understands the problems

of her growing girls and boys.

She may boast that she's older,

but her heart is twenty-three...

My glorious bright-eyed mother

Who is keeping young with me.

— Author Unknown

Daughters-In-Law Are Our Grandchildren's Mothers

By Nicholas Gordon

Daughters-in-law are our grandchildren's mothers.

As such, they carry our fortunes downstream.

Under their guidance, our hopes become others',

Giving their force to a much larger dream.

How lucky we are to have you for the carer

That nurtures the hearts of our hearts, that they may

Each be a lover, a giver and sharer,

Remaking the world in their image each day.

So do we all, like streams from the mountains,

In time become joined in the souls we have made,

Now mingled forever, eternal companions,

Linked by our love in a bond that won't fade.

As you in your noontime your work of love do,

We watch from the hillside, grateful for you.

A REAL MOM IS ONE WHO...

Counts the number of sprinkles on each kid's cupcake to make sure they are equal.

Hides in the bathroom whenever she needs to be alone.

Considers fingerpaint to be a controlled substance.

Mastered the art of placing food on a plate without anything touching.

Finds herself cutting her husband's sandwiches into unusual shapes.

Uses her own saliva to clean her child's face.

Clings to the high moral ground on toy weapons while her child chews his toast into the shape of a gun.

Dear Annie: I would just like to give a wake-up call to teenage girls who claim to dislike their mothers.

My girlfriend's mother died last week of breast cancer.

It made me realize how much I appreciate my mother. She's the hardest-working woman I know. She handles two full-time jobs, two daughters and a husband. Not to mention being in charge of all the big family get-togethers. She's the person I'm always looking up to.

Although Mom can't make all my violin concerts or soccer games, she tries her best. So, to all the teenage daughters out there, give your mother a compliment. It will make her day. — Bonding in New York

Dear New York: What a wonderful gift to your mother on Mother's Day.

Annie's Snippet for Mother's Day (credit George Washington): "My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her."

Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please e-mail your questions to anniesmailbox@comcast.net, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, P.O. Box 118190, Chicago, IL 60611. To find out more about Annie's Mailbox, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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