What is motherhood? What does it mean to be a mother? These questions are as challenging to answer as they are simple. Yes, to give birth; yes, to adopt children; yes, to have a family. But being a mother is also about much more than that. There’s some large, overwhelming, and beautiful piece at the center of motherhood that is so hard to put words to. It’s a feeling, not an explanation. Maybe that piece is best called love. If so, it is truly a unique love reserved for the mother/child relationship. And when you’ve felt it, you know it. In honor of Mother’s Day, these 3 moms share what it means to be a mother:

“Being a mother means being completely and totally overwhelmed (in the best possible way) by love, joy, responsibility, and selflessness. Motherhood means sleepless nights, big belly laughs, caterpillars on the coffee table, finger-painting in the kitchen, stubbed toes, and gapped toothed grins. Motherhood has made life more colorful than I ever knew it could be. Being a mom means I have two little people who walk around with my heart and soul in the palms of their sweet, smudgy hands.”—Lauren Casper, Blogger

“To me, being a mother means getting to see all the possibility in the world through your children’s eyes, and also wanting to be the kindest and most generous version of yourself, so that your children can look up to you. On a day to day level, being a mother means being tired, sometimes grumpy and never left alone, and then, in one funny, loving or meaningful moment with your kids, realizing that it’s all completely worth it. Times one million.”—Cara McDonough, Blogger

“For me, being a mother means it is MY responsibility to give my children the tools they need to live a happy and meaningful life. In the case of my daughters, Lily and Melanie, I wanted to empower them with a skill set that would allow them to create independent careers and avoid the glass ceiling…they are on their way with confidence and the sky is the limit.”—Renee Sandler, Founder & CEO, BLAMtastic®

Regardless of what motherhood means to you, the universal language of motherhood is love. Happy Mother’s Day!