30 Positive Quotes About Mothers and Mother Figures

Author:
Dora Weithers
Updated:
May 2, 2024

Our mothers and mother figures are there for us when we need them most. These 30 quotes celebrate their impact on our lives.
J W via Unsplash; Canva

Quotes About Mothers and Mother Figures

In 2017, Pam Goodfellow, a Prosper Principal Analyst, stated that “Consumers are planning to open up their wallets a little bit more to celebrate the women with the most important jobs in the world.” She was referring to the stupendous amount of money people spend on their mothers for Mother’s Day.

Mother's Day spending increased from $14.9 billion in 2007 to $23.6 billion in 2017. Despite the staggering amount of money we spend on Mother's Day gifts, however, most of us recognize that the influence of the mothers and mother figures in our lives is beyond price. Below are 30 quotes about mothers and the immeasurably positive impact they have on our lives.

Quote Categories

Their presence (always there when needed and even when not)
Their words (affirming and unforgettable)
Their love (nurturing for a lifetime)
Their uniqueness (different than anyone else in the family)

"My mother . . . I cannot now imagine a life without her." —Kristin Hannah
Sno-Isle Libraries, CC BY-NC 2.0 via Flickr; Canva

Their Presence

1. "My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her." ―George Washington

2. "A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us." ―Washington Irving

3. "My mother is the bones of my spine, keeping me straight and true. She is my blood, making sure it runs rich and strong. She is the beating of my heart. I cannot now imagine a life without her." ―Kristin Hannah

4. "In a child's eyes, a mother is a goddess. She can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe." ―N.K. Jemisin

5. "All these kings would do a deal better if they would put down their swords and listen to their mothers." ―George R.R. Martin

6. "The home should be to the children the most attractive place in the world, and the mother's presence should be its greatest attraction." ―Ellen White

7. "A mother who radiates self-love and self-acceptance actually VACCINATES her daughter against low self-esteem." ―Naomi Wolf

8. "My mother was . . . the judge in all our arguments. One disapproving word from her was enough to send us off to hide in a corner . . . One kiss could restore us to princedom. Without her, our lives would dissolve into chaos." ―Nicole Krauss

"My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother." —Wilma Rudolph
Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons; Canva

Their Words

9. "When I was five years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy.' They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life." ―John Lennon

10. "When I was a child, my mother said to me, 'If you become a soldier, you'll be a general. If you become a monk, you'll be the pope.' Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso." ―Pablo Picasso

11. "My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother." ―Wilma Rudolph

12. "My mother had always told her kids: if you're about to do something, and you want to know if it's a bad idea, imagine seeing it printed in the paper for all the world to see." ―Gillian Flynn

13. "'Can anything harm us, mother, after the night-lights are lit?' 'Nothing, precious,' she said; 'they are the eyes a mother leaves behind her to guard her children.'" ―J.M. Barrie

14. "When I was a boy, and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day . . . I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers—so many caring people in this world." ―Fred Rogers

Scroll to Continue

i-was-able-to-dump-my-previous-trash-collection-service

wednesday-of-the-first-week-in-ordinary-time

15. "My mother whispered her strength into my ear." ―Sharon M. Draper

"My mother is that sweet flower of love." —Stevie Wonder
Pete Souza, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons; Canva

Their Love

16. "Mothers are endowed with a love that is unlike any other love on the face of the earth." ―Marjorie Hinckley

17. "A mother's love . . . knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path." ―Agatha Christie

18. "My mom smiled at me. Her smile kind of hugged me." ―R.J. Palacio

19. "I realized when you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know." ―Mitch Albom

20. "If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love." ―Stevie Wonder

21. "In womankind, we find the mothers of the race. There is no man so great, nor none sunk so low, but once he lay a helpless, innocent babe in a woman's arms and was dependent on her love and care for his existence." ―Mabel Hale

22. "When a baby is born, a flower begins to bloom in her continuously, this flower is the love of her mother." ―Debasish Mridha MD

23. "No place in this world is as safe as my mother’s womb, and nobody in this world is, as loving as my mother." ―Luffina Lourduraj

Their Uniqueness

24. "I don't know what it is about the food your mother makes for you, especially when it's something that anyone can make - pancakes, meatloaf, tuna salad - but it carries a certain taste of memory." ―Mitch Albom

25. "Mom—the person most likely to write an autobiography and never mention herself." —Robert Brault

26. "If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been." ―Robert Brault

27. "A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." ―Tenneva Jordan

28. "A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest." ―Irish Proverb

29. "I have learned that the love a mother has for her child is unique among human emotions. Every mother knows this instinctively, but that doesn't mean it doesn't need articulating." ―Lisa Scottline

30. "Whosoever does not believe in the existence of a sixth sense has clearly not regarded their own mother. How it is they know all they know about you . . . And they don't just know—they know instantly." ―Narissa Doumani

Comments

Dora Weithers (author) from The Caribbean on October 09, 2019:

Nicole, thanks for your input. Here's a bonus quote for you: "The king upon his throne has no higher work than has the mother. . . An angel could not ask for a higher mission . . . Her work is for time and for eternity." (Ellen White) Best to you and your sons always!

Nicole K on October 08, 2019:

Thanks for this wonderful hub! I was tearing up reading all of the different quotes about how special mothers are. It's easy to forget how significant this role is when you're completing the daily household chores involved (laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, meals, and so on). It gets mundane at times. This was a wonderful reminder just how truly priceless mothers are! I hope to always be close to my sons as they grow older and I hope we'll have a special bond.

Dora Weithers (author) from The Caribbean on April 17, 2019:

Tamara, thank you for your inspiring contribution to this article. Blessings on you and your children and Happy Mother's Day when it comes less than a month away.

Tamara Yancosky BBYCGN from Uninhabited Regions on April 17, 2019:

Except for our Lord, Who is Love, Himself, there is no greater love than that between a mother and her children. It is an amazing love; wholly unbreakable, and unquenchable. Such a love is fascinating, really, because it is so consuming. I know this because I love my children more than words, or even my actions will ever be able to describe.

Thank you, Dora, for putting forth your lovely, sweetly scented post on the quotes about such a magnificent love!

Hugs,

Tamara

Dora Weithers (author) from The Caribbean on March 11, 2019:

Rochelle, I know that you're grateful to have one of those wonderful moms. Thanks for sharing.

Rochelle Ann De Zoysa from Moratuwa, Sri Lanka on March 11, 2019:

It's all true :) I sometimes wonder what would have become of me without my mom. She's my inspiration :) Thank you for the reminder :) God bless you!!

Dora Weithers (author) from The Caribbean on February 27, 2019:

Thanks, Denise for such a heartening comment. Yes, whether we are the mothers or the children, our goal is to appreciate the status of motherhood.

Denise W Anderson from Bismarck, North Dakota on February 27, 2019:

Thanks for the reminder of how precious we are to our children, and our mothers are to us. The warm thoughts this article generated wrapped me in a blessed blanket of love and peace.

Dora Weithers (author) from The Caribbean on February 25, 2019:

Thanks, Nell. Our mothers are exceptional, more than any quote can say. So glad that you enjoy them.

Nell Rose from Buckinghamshire UK on February 25, 2019:

What fantastic quotes and sayings Dora! I love the one from John Lennon and the other one about children at night after the little lights are left on being a mothers eyes, wonderful!

Dora Weithers (author) from The Caribbean on February 25, 2019:

Thelma, thanks for reading. Blessings on you and your siblings as you gather and eat to commemorate your mother. Good that you have each other!

Thelma Alberts from Germany on February 24, 2019:

Hi Dora. It is so nice reading all the quotes about a mother. Mothers love is infinite. Reading this reminds me of my mothers birthday next week but she had died 11 years ago. We still gather at home with my siblings and their respective families and enjoy the food that we make for her commemoration. Thanks for sharing.

Dora Weithers (author) from The Caribbean on February 22, 2019:

Delores, it is always a good feel when thoughts about our mothers surface. Happy to have written quotes which add to your good memory. Thanks for reading.

Antonio50S on February 22, 2019:

To dora. I really do like the articles you write about, learned a lot through them, grateful for that, and though i said it before, i wont be commenting any further now. I just wanted to share a few things of my own which i have, and as i said, learned a lot as well.

Thank You

Antonio

Dolores Monet from East Coast, United States on February 22, 2019:

I so enjoyed reading all the quotes about mothers. I've been thinking about my own mother so much lately - things that she said and did keep popping up. So this was a perfect fit.

Antonio50S on February 21, 2019:

I think thats a GREAT comment from Eric, but what makes the world and life grand, isn't the things we already have, its not even any suffering we maybe going through, its our whole outlook and perception to life itself.

Sometimes its hard knowing if what we have is as a result of Gods blessings ? Maybe we have these things because we have the right attitude to begin with ? or we could be just victims of circumdtances in life ? Only God knows these things, and only God knows how to deliver people out of trials.

Even Job in his testings "wasn't" found righteous, but he did have the right attitude towards God & life, For that, he was "considered" righteous, and received far more than he lost.

If were not being tested, how will we know our faith is real ? But we do need to maintain the right attitude, no matter what comes our way in life.

Antonio50S on February 20, 2019:

Wes Angelozzi.

"Go and love someone exactly as they are. And then watch how quikly they transform into the greatest, truest version of themselves. When one feels seen and appreciated in their own essence, one is instantly empowered"

Antonio50S on February 20, 2019:

If we travel the speed of light being 186,000 miles per second, it would take 100,000 years to cross our Milky Way Galaxy, yet there's billions of galaxies in our universe.

Despite that, "Love is the most powerful force in the universe, which has no limits" Albert Einstein.

Love is limitless, it gives meaning to everything in life and has the power to heal all wounds. Comes up a lot in these quotes.

Antonio50S on February 20, 2019:

Eric is funny. Life is definitely grand when we have the right attitude towards it. looking at this photo of Planet earth from outer space "from a distance" all the things the nations worry about ? In the end we don't really own anything. In the stream of time, we're here for a moment, then we're gone, but the spirirual treasures stored in the heavens are for eternity.

Dora Weithers (author) from The Caribbean on February 19, 2019:

Eric, we're agreed on that. With children and grandchildren who love me, with writer-friends like you who support my work and offer me interesting content to read, with angels hovering over me and God providing for me, with so much more . . . life is really grand A pleasure to have you cross my path!

Eric Dierker from Spring Valley, CA. U.S.A. on February 19, 2019:

Ain't life grand Dora..

Dora Weithers (author) from The Caribbean on February 19, 2019:

Chitrangada, you echo the thoughts of many others like you have been blessed with good mothers. We cannot take them for granted. May our lives reflect theirs and our gratitude for them. Thanks for adding to this tribute.

Chitrangada Sharan from New Delhi, India on February 19, 2019:

Wonderful collection of quotes about the mothers. I loved all of them. Mothers are like angels on Earth and I find it very difficult to describe, their countless qualities.

My mother is my inspiration, my teacher, my guide and what not! In addition to being the most affectionate person, she never hesitates to correct me, when I am wrong.

Thanks for sharing this beautiful tribute to the mothers!

Antonio50S on February 18, 2019:

Thanks for that dora, "appreciate it" number 5 about the kings is very good.

Dora Weithers (author) from The Caribbean on February 17, 2019:

Thanks, Alyssa. We've been blessed to have several good mothers. May their legacy live on in us and in our children. A happy, productive week to you, too.

Alyssa from Ohio on February 17, 2019:

This is a beautiful tribute! I've been fortunate to have many mother figures in my life, each leaving a lasting impact on me. I love the collection of quotes! Thank you, Dora! Have a wonderful week!

Dora Weithers (author) from The Caribbean on February 17, 2019:

Bill. agreed. No substitute for Moms. They deserve gratitude all year long.

Dora Weithers (author) from The Caribbean on February 17, 2019:

Eric, you good-natured son that you are, your comments also gives me a boost. Thanks.

William Kovacic from Pleasant Gap, PA on February 17, 2019:

Not sure how I missed this one, Dora. All I can say is, there's no one like Mom!

Eric Dierker from Spring Valley, CA. U.S.A. on February 14, 2019:

Yahoo I needed the boost this morning. I am going to honor my mom today by deeds.

Antonio50S on February 13, 2019:

To dora. About them last couple of post of mine, they were a bit long and detailed, but just shairing my own past experience, if you feel its inappropriate leaving them post there ? ( just "delete" them ) whatever you think ? Already shaired the experience.

Dora Weithers (author) from The Caribbean on February 12, 2019:

Nithya, you also made my day with your encouraging comment. So happy for you that you can still enjoy your mother. Blessings!

Nithya Venkat from Dubai on February 12, 2019:

A great collection of quotes, loved them all. I have a wonderful mother and she is my friends, philosopher and guide. Thank you for sharing such wonderful quotes about a mother, reading them made my day.