I found it telling that when I asked mothers, on and off Charm City Moms, what they really wanted for Mother's Day, not one person mentioned a physical item. What we want for Mother's Day is....

--Time. Some of us, like CKisMom and Annelies, want a peaceful day to hang out with the family.

--Time. Some of us, like mrg and MarylandMommy.com, want time to ourselves to do anything we want. (And in my opinion, it needs to be a long stretch of time. Sometimes when I have the gift of a few hours with no agenda, I'm so paralyzed with the possibilities that by the time I've decided what to do, time's up!)

--More time all the time. And others, in a perfect world, want more time every day, preferably time not filled with errands or carpools. Count me in this group. Lila said it best: "A 25th hour."

--Pampering: Yeah, it may be a cliche, but we'd really like to get our nails done, or have a facial or a massage.

--A personal trainer. This is (the other) kate's wish. It would be mine, too, if only I had time (see above).

--A professional organizer. Laura wants her scrapbooks/photo albums organized, eapopp wants her windows cleaned, and I want a dining room table with no papers on it.

--A date for a nice dinner. Several people mentioned this, and I'm there with them. Not only do I want a date with my husband for dinner out at one of my favorite places (the ones where the Dining at Large people would scream if they saw children), but I also want someone else to hire the babysitter, make the reservations, get the kids bathed and fed before the babysitter gets there, have enough cash on hand to pay the babysitter, and drive the babysitter home afterwards. While I sit around in my little black dress nursing a nightcap.

There, we've said it. Now, how do we feel about having the kids make us breakfast on Mother's Day? Pro: It's so sweet and fun. Con: We might have to clean it up afterwards.

Discuss.

(Sun file photo by Doug Kapustin)