Thanks, Mom

Consider this a rhetorical gift to all you moms out there: The term "working mother," we're well aware, is redundant.

Please understand that we mean no disrespect to anyone. Women who have to balance children and careers face formidable challenges. It's just that the combination of the words "working" and "mother" sort of implies that a mom who doesn't have a spot on a payroll lacks a vocation.

On behalf of mothers (and fathers) everywhere, we beg to differ. Parenthood itself is work.

If you don't agree, just think about the daily interactions between parents and children. Raising a child involves the use of many skill sets, including (but by no means limited to):

- Teacher

- Coach

- Counselor

- Arbitrator

- Financial planner

- Driving instructor

- And, for the accident-prone child, emergency medical technician.

Those are only some of the more specialized jobs mothers perform, in addition to duties of chauffeur, launderer, cook, waitress, and countless others.

Mothers do all this and more, nurturing us toward eventual independence. For many that's the hardest of all mothers' duties - preparing their children for the day when they venture out on our own, while preparing themselves for the pain of letting go. They teach, they guide, and sometimes they just sit back and watch, knowing the importance of letting children make and learn from their own mistakes - and successes. Mothers struggle with their own desire always to be there protecting their children, even as one's nurturing has prepared them for when they don't need mother as much anymore.

Some people have tried to quantify mothers' work, and reached widely varying values, ranging from $60,000 for basic job descriptions to more than $600,000 is one uses the salary of a chef rather than a cook, a financial analyst instead of a bookkeeper, etc. Most people will agree, however, that the job of mother has its own intrinsic value, and its value is beyond measurement.

We are a species whose newborns would die without being carefully nourished and nurtured for at least a few years, and mothers are the most signal performers of this function. Mothers teach us the difference between standing up for ourselves and being obnoxious, and a host of other life lessons without which civilized society would no doubt be short-lived.

We would argue that every mother can be thought of as a working mother, because parenting qualifies as a job - as they used to say in the military recruiting ads, the toughest job you'll ever love.

So here's to you, moms, and all the hard work you do, regardless of whether it's the kind that shows up on a W-2 form. We can't offer you a day off from motherhood, but we can wish you a happy Mother's Day.