Mom is still teaching

The last time we tried this, a cold shoulder, lonely couch and plenty of time to rue our words resulted.

It was Valentine's Eve, and we used this space to say the day wasn't really all that special, and we expounded upon the unnecessary expense and frivolity of that manufactured holiday.

In doing so, a few guys chuckled. An army of angry women (and no few like-minded men) told us what heartless morons we were for tossing a wet blanket on the transcendent heat of true love.

Maybe on the palate of newsprint and ink there's no such thing as a makeup editorial, but there is growth - spiritual, intellectual and emotional. Wives/moms: Who better to help us learn from our mistakes? They remain the world's most profound teachers.

And so it is that we greet all mothers on this most auspicious and happy day, created to bestow upon them a fraction of the admiration they deserve. Flowers? Shower her with 'em. Candy? Her wish is your command. Cards? Too many is not enough. Heck, when it comes to Mother's Day gifts, a Rolls Royce with a full-time chauffeur who looks a lot like Sean Connery just might be in order.

For years of putting up with dumb things the kids have done - and, yes, written - motherhood is hereby placed on the same mantel as sainthood. Maybe it's the same thing.