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. – George Washington

Quite literally, what would we be without our mothers? Mothers are the glue that holds a family together and the fine-tuned engine that keeps a family humming along smoothly. Mothers work a double shift between their “career jobs” and their “home jobs”—juggling their additional roles of family chauffeur, mediator in settling disputes over the remote control and other catastrophic domestic concerns, food and beverage engineer, interior decorator and academic counsellor, to name a few.

Now that you’re about to become a mother, you are joining ranks with some of the most nurturing, influential, and often unsung heroes of our time. As a new mom, you will have the most influence on your child’s development. Remember, who you choose to be, they will become. So take pride in becoming a mother—it’s the most important job in the world! Here are just a few reasons why Mom’s are great.

1. We love you because you cheer the loudest for us at our soccer games—even when we didn’t score any goals.
2. We love you because you put a band-aid on our knees and dried our tears with kisses the first time we fell off our bikes.
3. We love you because you remember that we like our grilled cheese sandwiches with the crusts cut off while our brothers likes them with the crusts left on, and you get it right every time.
4. We love you because you walked around the house with us in your arms all night as a baby while we cried through colic and teething.
5. We love you because you taught us how to tie our shoes (bunny ears) and then opted for Velcro instead.
6. We love you because when a small voice calls out “Mom?” in a crowd, your head turns automatically, even though you know your own kids are at home.
7. We love you because you’re the world’s best missing sock finder—even the FBI can’t match your sock sleuthing skills.
8. We love you because you were always there after our bath holding a clean, cosy, dry towel waiting to wrap us in a safe hug.
9. We love you because you leave the hallway lights on at night during a thunderstorm without being asked.
10. We love you because you methodically check our bedroom closets for ghosts and goblins just before bedtime with the flashlight we keep under our pillows.
11. We love you because you wake up at 5:00 am on the morning of the days we go back to university to bake fresh oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for our care packages.
12. We love you because even though we were already in high school, you would still peel and slice our fruit for us as an after school snack.
13. We love you because you would stay up late and sip hot chocolate with us as we giggled over the details of our first dance.
14. We love you because you eventually gave in and got us a cat, even though you’re allergic, and even though you ended up being the one to change the litter box despite all promises to the contrary.