Dad was asleep.

But Mom wasn't.

And Scott was glad.

Scott's an adult, recently returned from an honorable mission. But he's not too old for some motherly counsel. And though it's 3 a.m., Scott can't sleep. He knows from personal and sibling experience that Mom's available — now or anytime.

Scott chooses now.

"Mom isn't normal. Talks at 3 a.m. are commonplace. It doesn't matter to Mom because she is so used to sacrificing her time and sleep that she hardly notices anymore.

"The way I see it, I'd rather ask Mom's advice and get it right the first time."

Mother's Day can be a tough time for an in-the-trenches mom. Few, if any, mothers feel like they measure up. Truth be told, however, most do. So, Mom, if you don't regularly talk to your kids in the middle of the night, that's OK. Your children love you for hundreds of other — equally important — reasons.

Here's a sampling:

"I couldn't, even in a very long novel, sum up all that my mother has done for me. But, in a sentence, she has loved me.

"Not long ago, I had surgery and, sure enough, my mom was the first thing I wanted when I came to. My mom was by my side to feed me, bathe me, love me, hold me and just pay attention to me — a 17 year old — through my crying and stubbornness." Sometimes, it seems, Mom is having so much fun, she doesn't realize she's doing such a great thing.

"I love how crazy my mom is. She isn't a stuffy mom. She is fun and loving."

What's good for sons and daughters seems also good for sons- and daughters-in-law.

"I went to decorate [my fiance's] room with thank you notes for a date he took me on. [My future mother-in-law] opened the door and offered to help me. We started talking and laughing about some of her dating experiences. I knew right then we would become good friends."

And, without Mom's help, there might be no daughter-in-law at all.

"I couldn't sleep one night because I was worrying about life. I knew I was in love with [my future wife], but I was just worried about how to support her, and about just being married in general. Somehow — I don't remember how — Mom ended up in my room, and we ended up talking for hours about all my concerns. We joked, laughed and Mom told stories of her life and gave me advice that I will never forget. In general she calmed my fears. A few weeks later, I was engaged."

Be it through marriage or with other friends, a mother's influence spreads.

"My friends are like her own kids. They report their daily experiences with her whenever they drop by for a visit. Why do they do it? Because they know she cares." A friend to the friends — and a friend to the children:

"She doesn't teach me like a normal mom, she teaches me like a friend would teach another friend. She has always made it a point to be friends first. That is a great example to me — that you can love someone and teach them without sounding like a dictator. But, most of all, I'm just happy that I can have such a wonderful friend who knows me almost better than I know myself."

And, speaking of caring:

"First of all, my mom has always been the most caring person I have ever met. Even when I don't want her to care, she will always make me tell her what is wrong and help me solve it."

"Strength and honour [are] her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

"She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue [is] the law of kindness.

"She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

"Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband [also], and he praiseth her." (Prov. 31:25-28.)