Who else but Mom would spend literal years feeding you, clothing you, helping you with homework, always answering the phone when you call in a panic, and still think you’re absolutely killing it? (Well, Dad, because he's awesome, too, buuuuut...)
Ironically, it's Mom's all-around-awesomeness that can make figuring out what to write in a Mother's Day card surprisingly tough. Yes, your mama—whether she’s biological or chosen—knows you love her and think she’s the greatest, but she definitely deserves at least one day a year where you specifically tell her that. Not to mention, Mother's Day is also prime time to show some extra love to your grandmas, aunts, and new mom friends, too!
There's no doubt the maternal figures in your life will appreciate the sweet Mother's Day gift you’ve got stowed away in your online cart right now, but never underestimate how much she’ll love the thoughtful written sentiment that goes with it.
Telling your mom that you notice and appreciate everything she does for you, that you cherish all the life lessons she’s taught you, and that you promise to love her as much as she’s loved you is what she’ll remember most—guaranteed.
But if inspiration isn’t quite striking at the moment (because, pressure!), WH has got you covered. Include one of these 150 best Mother's Day quotes of all time in your card, and before you know it, the words will start flowing out of you. And when she reads it, Mom will be crying all the happy tears.
Short And Sweet Mother's Day Quotes
1. "A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin." —Unknown
2. "Life doesn't come with a manual. It comes with a mother." —Unknown
3. "I can imagine no heroism greater than motherhood." —Lance Conrad
4. "The best place to cry is in a mother's arms." —Jodie Picoult
5. "Mother and daughter from the start. Best friends forever from the heart." —Unknown
6. "A mother and daughter’s love is never separated." —Viola Shipman
7. "If you’re a mom, you’re a superhero. Period." —Rosie Pope
8. "Motherhood: All love begins and ends there." —Robert Browning
9. "A mother is your first friend, your best friend, your forever friend." —Unknown
10. "The world needs our mothers." —Liya Kebede
11. "A mother’s hug lasts long after she lets go." —Unknown
12. "We are born of love; love is our mother." —Rumi
13. "Mother: the most beautiful word on the lips of mankind." —Kahil Gibran
14. "To the world you are a mother, but to your family you are the world." —Unknown
15. "Mothers can look through a child’s eyes and see tomorrow." —Reed Markham
16. "To a child’s ear, 'mother' is magic in any language." —Arlene Benedict
17. "My mother is a walking miracle." —Leonardo DiCaprio
18. "Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever." —Unknown
19. "A mother understands what a child does not say." —Jewish Proverb
20. "There is no influence so powerful as that of the mother." —Sara Josepha Hale
21. "Mother: the most beautiful word on the lips of mankind." —Kahil Gibran
22. "The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children." —Elaine Heffner
23. "There is nothing as sincere as a mother’s kiss." —Saleem Sharma
24. "Mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled." —Emily Dickinson
25. "Nothing is really lost until your mom can’t find it." —Unknown
Mother’s Day Quotes About Love
26. "A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path." —Agatha Christie
27. "I love my mother as trees love water and sunshine. She helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights." —Terri Guillemets
28. "A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them." —Victor Hugo
29. "Mothers and their children are in a category all their own. There’s no bond so strong in the entire world. No love so instantaneous and forgiving." —Gail Tsukiyama
30. "Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; a mother’s secret hope outlives them all." —Oliver Wendell Holmes
31. "Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love, and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love." —Stevie Wonder
32. "When you are looking at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know." —Charley Benetto
33. "Mothers are like glue. Even when you can’t see them, they’re still holding the family together." —Susan Gale
34. "A mother’s love is more beautiful than any fresh flower." —Debasish Mridha
35. "No language can express the power and beauty and heroism of a mother’s love." —Edwin Chapin
36. "Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible." —Marion C. Garretty
37. "Life began with waking up and loving my mother’s face." —George Eliot
38. "When you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know." —Mitch Albom
21 Women Share Their Favorite Mother's Day Memories
39. "Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved." —Erich Fromm
40. "The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom." —Henry Ward Beecher
41. "I loved raising my kids. I loved the process, the dirt of it, the tears of it, the frustration of it, Christmas, Easter, birthdays, growth charts, pediatrician appointments. I loved all of it." —Jane Elliot
42. "The biggest surprise, which is also the best, is that I didn't know I would love motherhood as much as I do." —Deborah Norville
43. "Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs since the payment is pure love." —Mildred B. Vermont
44. "A mother’s love is everything. It is what brings a child into this world. It is what molds their entire being. When a mother sees her child in danger, she is literally capable of anything. Mothers have lifted cars off of their children and destroyed entire dynasties. A mother’s love is the strongest energy known to man." —Jamie McGuire
45. "The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness." —Honore de Balzac
Inspirational Mother’s Day Quotes
46. "I believe the choice to become a mother is the choice to become the greatest spiritual teacher there is. —Oprah
47. "Successful mothers are not the ones that never struggled. They are the ones that never give up despite the struggles." —Sharon Jaynes
48. "Motherhood is a choice you make everyday, to put someone else’s happiness and well-being ahead of your own, to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you’re not sure what the right thing is… and to forgive yourself, over and over again, for doing everything wrong." —Donna Ball
49. "If I have done anything in life worth attention, I feel sure that I inherited the disposition from my mother." —Booker T. Washington.
50. "There is no role in life that is more essential than that of motherhood." —Elder M. Russell Ballard
51. "Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws." —Barbara Kingsolver
52. "A mother's happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories." —Honore de Balzac
53. "What defines me is what my mom always taught me: to treat everyone with respect, to always be a hard worker, and to be kind." —Adam Rippon
54. "All that I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." —Abraham Lincoln
55. "A mother is clothed with strength and dignity, laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks her words are wise and she gives instructions with kindness." —Proverbs
56. "Acceptance, tolerance, bravery, compassion. These are the things my mom taught me." —Lady Gaga
57. "My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind." —Michael Jordan
58. "Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had." —Linda Wooten
59. "A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take." —Cardinal Mermillod
60. "My mother taught me to be honest, to be selfless, and to touch people in a positive way." —Scott Eastwood
61. "Mothers possess a power beyond that of a king on his throne." —Mabel Hale
62. "The mother-child relationship is paradoxical and, in a sense, tragic. It requires the most intense love on the mother's side, yet this very love must help the child grow away from the mother, and to become fully independent." —Erich Fromm
63. "Yes, Mother. I can see you are flawed. You have not hidden it. That is your greatest gift to me." —Alice Walker
64. "The most inspirational person in my life has been my mother." —Nicole Maines
65. It may be possible to gild pure gold, but who can make his mother more beautiful? —Mahatma Ghandi
Funny Mother’s Day Quotes
66. "A mom forgives us all our faults, not to mention one or two we don’t even have." —Robert Brault
67. "In the end, mothers are always right. No one else tells the truth." —Randy Susan Meyers
68. "If evolution really works, how come mothers have only two hands?" —Milton Berle
69. "Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mother's love is not." —James Joyce
70. "When your mother asks, 'Do you want a piece of advice?' it is a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway." —Erma Bombeck
71. "My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it." —Mark Twain
72. "Any mother could perform the jobs of several air-traffic controllers with ease." —Lisa Althe
73. "We have a secret in our culture, and it’s not that birth is painful. It’s that women are strong." —Laura Stavoe Harm
74. "I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford. Then, I want to move in with them." —Phyllis Diller
75. "There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it." —Chinese Proverb
76. "The phrase 'working mother' is redundant." —Jane Sellman
77. "My mother thinks I am the best. And I was raised to always believe what my mother tells me." —Diego Maradona
78. "Mothers are all slightly insane." —J.D. Salinger
79. "Mother is far too clever to understand anything she does not like." —Arnold Bennett
80. "Mom, I love you, even though I’ll never accept your friend request." —Unknown
Mother’s Day Quotes For A New Mom
81. "A mother is the one who fills your heart in the first place." —Amy Tan
82. "There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one." —Jill Churchill
83. "Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are." —Cheryl Lacey Donovan
84. "For when a child is born the mother also is born again." —Gilbert Parker
85. "It is not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding." —Erma Bombeck
86. "Only mothers can think of the future—because they give birth to it in their children." —Maxim Gorky
87. "My greatest blessing has been the birth of my son. My next greatest blessing has been my ability to turn people into children of mine." —Maya Angelou
88. "I thought I knew what love was before giving birth to my baby, but whatever I had experienced in the past paled in comparison to the utterly unconditional love I immediately felt for the little bundle I now held in my arms." —Linda Thompson
89. "You get to relive your childhood when you have a baby and you see these toys and these books you read when you were little—the innocence that you are able to maintain because you have to find that again in order to connect with your child keeps you in a special state of mind." —Idina Menzel
90. "My baby is the joy in my life." —Candace Parker
Mother’s Day Quotes For Grandma
91. "It’s such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother—that’s why the world calls her grandmother." —Unknown
92. "Grandmothers are the people who take delight in hearing babies breathing into the telephone." —Unknown
93. "If nothing is going well, call your grandmother." —Italian Proverb
94. "Grandmothers always have time to talk and make you feel special." —Catherine Pulsifer
95. "A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend." —Unknown
96. "Grandmas are short on criticism and long on love." —Unknown
97. "My grandmother is my angel on earth." —Catherine Pulsifer
98. "I know what it is like to be brought up with unconditional love. In my life that came from my grandmother." —Andre Leon Talley
99. "Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just you all day and now the day was complete." —Marcy DeMaree
100. "There’s no place like home, except Grandma’s." —Unknown
Mother's Day Quotes For An Aunt
101. "An aunt is always there for all the times when you need a second mom." —Unknown
102. "An aunt is a safe haven for a child. Someone who will keep your secrets and is always on your side." —Sara Sheridan
103. "Only an aunt can give hugs like a mother, can keep secrets like a sister and share love like a friend." —Unknown
104. "The best aunts aren’t substitute parents, they’re co-conspirators." —Daryl Gregory
105. "An aunt makes life a little sweeter." —Unknown
106. "I smile because you’re my aunt. I laugh because there’s nothing you can do about it." —Unknown
107. "An aunt is someone special to remember with warmth, think of with pride, and cherish with love." —Unknown
108. "An aunt grows more treasured as time goes by." —Unknown
109. "Aunt—like a mom, only cooler." —Unknown
110. "Great sisters get promoted to aunt." —Unknown
111. "Aunt: A cherished friend and personal cheerleader who will always see you through rose-colored glasses." —Unknown
112. "Aunt―a double blessing. You love like a parent and act like a friend." —Unknown
Mother’s Day Quotes for A Chosen Mom
113. "Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother." —Oprah Winfrey
114. "It’s not what we have in life, but who we have in our life that matters." —Unknown
115. "There are friends, there is family, and then there are friends that become family." —Unknown
114. "Time passes quickly but one thing always lasts—the love and support found in you." —Catherine Pulsifer
115. "The love and compassion you’ve always carried in your heart makes you a wonderful mother and a beloved friend." —Unknown
116. "I have so much of you in my heart." —John Keat
117. "By being yourself, you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before." —Edwin Elliot
118. "Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart." —Eleanor Roosevelt
Mother’s Day Quotes from Celebrity Moms
119. "My daughter introduced me to myself." —Beyoncé Knowles
120. "To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow." —Maya Angelou
121. "Motherhood is the greatest thing and the hardest thing." —Ricki Lake
122. "My mother was my role model before I even knew what that word was." —Lisa Leslie
123. "My mother: She is beautiful, softened at the edges and tempered with a spine of steel. I want to grow old and be like her." —Jodi Picoult
124. "A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s." —Princess Diana
125. "My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent." —Ruth Bader Ginsburg
126. "My mother is a big believer in being responsible for your own happiness. She always talked about finding joy in small moments and insisted that we stop and take in the beauty of an ordinary day." —Jennifer Garner
127. "My mom is definitely my rock." —Alicia Keys
128. "My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother." —Wilma Rudolph
129. "I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity." —Eleanor Roosevelt
130. "When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child." —Sophia Loren
131. "The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness. When you become a mother, you are no longer the center of your own universe. You relinquish that position to your children." —Jessica Lange
132. "Sometimes you want to skate along or just get by or fly under the radar, but sometimes you have to stand up and let your voice be heard and give it your best and give it your all. As a mother of young children, that's something I've tried to emphasize and highlight for them." —Angela Bassett
133. "Good food and a warm kitchen are what makes a house a home. I always tried to make my home like my mother's, because Mom was magnificent at stretching a buck when it came to decorating and food. Like a true Italian, she valued beautification in every area of her life, and I try to do the same." —Rachael Ray
134. "When I was a kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a good loser, then there's no way you could be a good winner." —Halle Berry
135. "My mother always taught us that if people don't agree with you, the important thing is to listen to them. But if you've listened to them carefully and you still think that you're right, then you must have the courage of your convictions." —Jane Goodall
136. "Having children is my greatest achievement. It was my savior. It switched my focus from the outside to the inside. My children are gifts, they remind me of what's important." —Elle Macpherson
137. "The fastest way to break the cycle of perfectionism and become a fearless mother is to give up the idea of doing it perfectly - indeed to embrace uncertainty and imperfection." —Arianna Huffington
138. "Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials." —Meryl Streep
139. "I wish my mother had left me something about how she felt growing up. I wish my grandmother had done the same. I wanted my girls to know me." —Carol Burnett
140. "I can only hope to be 10 percent of the mom mine was to me. She encouraged me to be confident and enjoy life. That's what I want for my son." —Charlize Theron
141. "Completeness? Happiness? These words don't come close to describing my emotions. There truly is nothing I can say to capture what motherhood means to me, particularly given my medical history." —Anita Baker
142. "I guess I was a mom so late in life, my daughter was the greatest thing since sliced bread." —Candice Bergen
143. "I want to be more successful as a mother than I am in show business." —Celine Dion
144. "My mother gave me a sense of independence, a sense of total confidence that we could do whatever it was we set out to do. That's how we were raised." —Robin Wright
145. "Of all the roles I've played, none has been as fulfilling as being a mother." —Annette Funicello
146. "Becoming a mother has made me next-level confident. I've never felt more empowered. I feel like my twenties were spent walking on eggshells making sure everyone felt loved and not really expressing my opinion. As a mom, you just don't have time, so you get straight to the point." —Kelly Clarkson
147. "My favorite thing about being a mom is just what a better person it makes you on a daily basis." —Drew Barrymore
148. "When I had my children and I felt that type of love, which I know you understand and every mom out there understands, it made me understand that there was a purity to love. That there is an unconditional love." —Jennifer Lopez
149. "Little souls find their way to you whether they're from your womb or someone else's." —Sheryl Crow
150. "Nothing can really prepare you for the sheer overwhelming experience of what it means to become a mother. It is full of complex emotions of joy, exhaustion, love and worry, all mixed together. Your fundamental identity changes overnight." —Kate Middleton
Lindsay Geller is the Lifestyle Director at Women’s Health, where she oversees the Life, Sex & Love, and Relationships sections on WomensHealthMag.com and the Mind section of Women's Health magazine. When she's not writing or editing articles about the latest dating trends and pop culture phenomenons, she's usually watching reality TV or playing with her dog, Lucille (Go Fetch That) Ball.
