If you look up the word “extraordinary” in the dictionary, you’ll find: “Exceptional in character, amount, extent, degree, etc.; noteworthy; remarkable.” But really consider this word for a moment. It’s extra and ordinary.

Extra ordinary.

Now think about this word in terms of people. When I do, I am immediately reminded of a group of people who might, at first, appear quite ordinary. But they are extraordinary, nonetheless. These people can make the everyday remarkable. Their actions, even simple ones, often are noteworthy. Many people consider them to be exceptional.

I’m talking about mothers.

And with Mother’s Day approaching, it’s fitting that we pay homage to this great group of extraordinary people. A mother can be a mom, a mommy, a stepmother, a foster mother, a grandmother and more. No matter the title, the bond formed by a mother’s love is something most everyone can recognize. There is nothing else in the world like it. It is extraordinary. Mothers nurse us and nurture us. They celebrate our successes and comfort us in our sorrows. As the poet Robert Browning said of motherhood: “All love begins and ends there.”

Over the past several years, I’ve coached a wonderful 60-something-year-old executive who, in turn, has become a mentor in my own life. Recently, this man’s mother passed away. He and his family celebrated her life at the funeral, and he and I talked soon after. First, we spoke joyfully about how special she was, and we talked about some of the many wonderful blessings she had brought to him and others. All of a sudden, he got quiet. Very quiet. Then he choked up, and so did I. You see, in that moment, we both knew that life would never be quite the same. When a mother is gone and only memories are left, life changes. And sometimes that makes our annual May celebration of motherhood all the more important.

No matter how old we are, there remains enough of a little child inside each of us to remind us of the special place our mothers have in our lives. Whether they are still here or not.