99 heartfelt Mother’s Day quotes to celebrate Mom
Moms do it all — from teaching us life lessons to always having our backs. Mother’s Day is the perfect time to let her know how much she means to us. Whether you're looking for something sentimental, witty, or famous, here are 99 quotes to celebrate Mom.
Famous Mother’s Day quotes
1. "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." — Abraham Lincoln
2. "God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers." — Rudyard Kipling
3. "Motherhood: All love begins and ends there." — Robert Browning
4. "Life began with waking up and loving my mother’s face." — George Eliot
5. "A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s." — Princess Diana
6. "A mother’s love is more beautiful than any fresh flower." — Debasish Mridha
7. "The best place to cry is on a mother’s arms." — Jodi Picoult
8. "No language can express the power and beauty and heroism of a mother’s love." — Edwin Chapin
9. "Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws." — Barbara Kingsolver
10. "A mother is the one who fills your heart in the first place." — Amy Tan
11. "If love is as sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love." — Stevie Wonder
12. "The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children." — Elaine Heffner
13. "A mother’s love endures through all." — Washington Irving
14. "Mothers are like buttons. They hold everything together." — Unknown
15. "There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one." — Jill Churchill
16. “It may be possible to gild pure gold, but who can make his mother more beautiful?” — Mahatma Gandhi
Funny Mother’s Day quotes
17. "Silence is golden. Unless you have kids. Then silence is suspicious." — Erma Bombeck
18. "It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it." — Dorothy Parker
19. "My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it." — Mark Twain
20. "There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it." — Chinese Proverb
21. "Mom: The person who does the work of twenty. For free." — Unknown
22. "Behind every great kid is a mom who’s pretty sure she’s messing it all up." — Unknown
Be a financially smart family!
23. "The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable." — Lane Olinghouse
24. "I love cleaning up messes I didn’t make. So I became a mom." — Unknown
25. "Sometimes I open my mouth and my mother comes out." — Lily Tomlin
26. "Being a mom means you have to laugh at yourself because you will do a lot of ridiculous things." — Unknown
27. "When your mother asks, ‘Do you want a piece of advice?’ it’s a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway." — Erma Bombeck
28. "My mother’s menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it." — Buddy Hackett
29. "The phrase ‘working mother’ is redundant." — Jane Sellman
30. "If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?" — Milton Berle
31. “Any mother could perform the jobs of several air-traffic controllers with ease.” — Lisa Alther
32. “A mom forgives us all our faults, not to mention one or two we don’t even have.” — Robert Brault
Sweet and heartfelt Mother’s Day quotes
33. "There is nothing as sincere as a mother’s kiss." — Saleem Sharma
34. "The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation." — James E. Faust
35. "A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take." — Cardinal Mermillod
36. "A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world." — Agatha Christie
37. "To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power." — Maya Angelou
38. "A mother understands what a child does not say." — Jewish Proverb
39. "A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them." — Victor Hugo
40. "A mother’s love is the strongest energy known to man. It is unstoppable." — Jamie McGuire
41. "The most precious jewels you’ll ever have around your neck are the arms of your children." — Unknown
42. "Being a mother is discovering strengths you didn’t know you had, and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed." — Linda Wooten
43. "A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary." — Dorothy Canfield Fisher
44. "The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness." — Honoré de Balzac
45. "A mother’s love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved." — Erich Fromm
46. "Motherhood is the exquisite inconvenience of being another person’s everything." — Unknown
47. "Mothers can look through a child’s eyes and see tomorrow." — Reed Markham
48. "All mothers are working mothers." — Unknown
49. “When you are looking at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know.” — Charley Benetto
Witty and wise Mother’s Day quotes
50. "Mothers are like glue. Even when you can’t see them, they’re still holding the family together." — Susan Gale
51. "I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford. Then, I want to move in with them." — Phyllis Diller
52. "Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had." — Linda Wooten
53. "A mother’s hug lasts long after she lets go." — H. Jackson Brown Jr.
54. "The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." — William Ross Wallace
55. "A mother’s love liberates." — Maya Angelou
56. "The influence of a mother upon the lives of her children cannot be measured." — James E. Faust
57. "My mother was my role model before I even knew what that word was." — Lisa Leslie
58. "To the world, you are a mother, but to your family, you are the world." — Unknown
59. "Motherhood is the greatest thing and the hardest thing." — Ricki Lake
60. "Motherhood: The days are long, but the years are short." — Gretchen Rubin
61. "Mothers are the necessity of invention." — Bill Watterson
62. "The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." — John Wooden
63. “Mother is the heartbeat in the home; and without her, there seems to be no heartthrob.” — Leroy Brownlow
64. “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
65. “Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.” — William Makepeace Thackeray
66. “Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother’s secret hope outlives them all.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes
Gratitude-filled Mother’s Day quotes
67. "Mother is the heartbeat in the home; and without her, there seems to be no heartthrob." — Leroy Brownlow
68. "I can imagine no heroism greater than motherhood." — Lance Conrad
69. "Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever." — Dorothy C. Fisher
70. "A mother’s love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible." — Marion C. Garretty
71. "A mother’s love is endless, just like her patience." — Unknown
72. "A mother is not defined by the number of children you can see, but by the love she holds in her heart." — Franchesca Cox
73. "No matter your age, you will always need your mom." — Oprah Winfrey
74. "A mother’s greatest masterpiece is her children." — Leonardo da Vinci
75. "The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between the heart and the heavenly Father." — Samuel Taylor Coleridge
76. "The simplest way to say thanks to a mother is to live a life that makes her proud." — Laura Ingalls Wilder
77. "We are born of love; love is our mother." — Rumi
78. "No gift to your mother can ever equal her gift to you—life." — Anonymous
79. "Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever." — Eleanor Roosevelt
Inspirational Mother’s Day quotes
80. "The mother’s heart is the child’s schoolroom." — Henry Ward Beecher
81. "Motherhood is the biggest gamble in the world. It is the glorious life force. It’s huge and scary — it’s an act of infinite optimism." — Gilda Radner
82. "There is no influence so powerful as that of a mother." — Sarah Josepha Hale
83. "To a child’s ear, ‘mother’ is magic in any language." — Arlene Benedict
84. "Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws." — Barbara Kingsolver
85. "Motherhood: Where all love begins and never ends." — Robert Browning
86. "A mother’s love is the first gift we receive, and it lasts a lifetime." — Unknown
87. "The beauty of motherhood is not in reproduction but in inclusion — making the child feel whole and accepted." — Sadhguru
88. "A mother’s love is the foundation upon which great lives are built." — Unknown
89. "Everything I am, my mother helped me to be." — Unknown
Legacy and wisdom Mother’s Day quotes
90. "Mothers plant the seeds of love that bloom forever." — Helen Steiner Rice
91. "A mother’s words become her child’s inner voice." — Unknown
92. "Mothers give us roots to grow and wings to fly." — Unknown
93. "The strength of a mother’s love is the greatest legacy she leaves behind." — Diana, Princess of Wales
94. “Only mothers can think of the future because they give birth to it in their children.” — Maxim Grosky
95. “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
96. “A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin.” — Unknown
97. “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
98. “Mothers possess a power beyond that of a king on his throne.” — Mabel Hale
99. “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
How to write the perfect Mother’s Day message
If you want to write something heartfelt for Mom, here are a few tips:
Highlight her best qualities.
Think about what makes your mom special and include it in your message.
Share a favorite memory.
Mention a time when she made you feel loved or taught you something valuable.
Express your gratitude.
Let her know how much you appreciate all she does.
Sign off with love.
"Love you forever," "With all my heart," or a simple "Happy Mother’s Day!" are great ways to close.
Looking for ways to surprise Mom? Check out these articles:
Real families, real results. Join 6+ million financially smart kids, teens, and parents learning to earn, save, and invest together! Try Greenlight, one month, risk-free.†
This blog post is provided "as is" and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. Some content in this post may have been created using artificial intelligence; however, every blog post is reviewed by at least two human editors.
†Valid for new customers only. Subject to identity verification and minimum load requirements. Your first monthly fee will be billed to your parent wallet seven days after successful registration. To receive a refund of your first monthly fee, you must request to close your account on or before the day immediately preceding your first Monthly Billing Date. See the ‘Account’ tab of Settings by tapping the gear icon on the Greenlight app home page to confirm when your risk-free trial ends. See Terms for details.
Share via
Hey, smart parents 👋
Teach money lessons at home with Greenlight’s Smart Parent newsletter. Money tips, insights, and fun family trivia — delivered every month.