The second Sunday of May is the annual celebration of Mother’s Day. This year, because of stay-at-home orders, mothers with school-age children deserve extra praise. If they’re working mothers, they have to juggle their work and monitor their children’s remote learning. Fathers who are present may help with childcare and household chores, but according to anecdotal information typically it’s the mothers who are the decision-makers for scheduling and assigning tasks.

Celebrating mothers

Fortunately, many mothers will be recognized and appreciated on this day despite quarantines, restaurant closures, and the serious problems in the global flower market. According to the National Retail Federation, 8 in 10 consumers will celebrate Mother’s Day, and spending could exceed last year’s total.

The coronavirus has changed the way we think of Mother’s Day, with 78% saying it’s more important to them this year, even though many are dealing with real financial hardships, health concerns, and other burdens. Social distancing means that 66% are likely to celebrate virtually.

Remembering the importance of mothers

The following are some sentiments from famous people about their mothers:

George Washington: “All that I am I owe to my mother. I attribute my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.”

Abraham Lincoln: “All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”

Dwight Eisenhower: “Mother was by far the greatest personal influence in our lives.”

Booker T. Washington: “If I have done anything in life worth attention, I feel sure that I inherited the disposition from my mother.”

Hermann Hesse: “If I know what love is, it’s because of you.”

Rudyard Kipling (or a proverb): “God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.”

Maya Angelou: “To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes: “Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother’s secret hope outlives them all.”

And two humorous quotes:

Milton Berle: “If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands.”

From the Golden Girls TV series said by Dorothy: “It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it too.”