The lead-up to Mother's Day may be all about finding the right Mother's Day gift and planning great Mother's Day activities, but don't let the day itself flash by without a meaningful Mother's Day quote or two. Your mom—or your wife and mother of your children, or your grandmother, or whomever—is sure to appreciate a Mother's Day quote, saying, or caption along with the meaningful card you give her or the funny post you put on social media.
A good Mother's Day poem will never fail you, but sometimes you want something a little shorter: That's where Mother's Day quotes come in. These short, pithy sayings and phrases from great minds, writers, and thinkers carry a lot of meaning and feeling in just a few words. If you don't know exactly what to say to your mom (or how to caption your Instagram post), these quotes might have the words that you don't. (Some are even funny too.)
Between tracking down gifts for new moms for the women in your circle and planning your Mother's Day itinerary, take a look at these quotes for moms—they'll make you smile and want to call Mom whether it's Mother's Day or not.
"A mother is the one who fills your heart in the first place."
– Amy Tan
1 of 17
"All that I ever am and hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."
– Abraham Lincoln
2 of 17
"There's no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one."
– Jill Churchill
3 of 17
"My mother was my role model before I even knew what that word was."
– Lisa Leslie
4 of 17
"It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it."
– Dorothy, The Golden Girls
5 of 17
"A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take."
– Cardinal Mermillod
6 of 17
"A mother's arms are more comforting than anyone else's."
– Princess Diana
7 of 17
"Life began with waking up and loving my mother's face."
– George Eliot
8 of 17
"Mothers: All love begins and ends there."
– Robert Browning
9 of 17
"Maybe it's just a daughter's job to piss off her mother."
– Chuck Palahnuik, Diary
10 of 17
"Behind all your stories is always your mother's story, because hers is where yours begin."
– Mitch Albom, For One More Day
11 of 17
"You know all my most embarrassing moments, you know that I'm a nut, so what can I do to repay your love...and make sure you keep your mouth shut!?"
– Holly Giffers, "You Know Me"
12 of 17
"On Mother's Day it isn't smart to give your mom a broken heart."
– Bruce Lansky, On Mother's Day
13 of 17
"Life doesn't come with a manual. It comes with a mother."
– Unknown
14 of 17
"Best of wives and best of Women."
– Alexander Hamilton
15 of 17
"A mother's love endures through all."
– Washington Irving
16 of 17
"God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers."
– Rudyard Kipling