According to a recent survey, Canadians would pay their moms an average salary of $161,287 a year for all their hard work. When asked what qualities a Mom of the Year should possess, the answers were several -- being loving, compassionate, hard working, fun loving, a mentor, sacrificing and charitable.

Sometimes a body just needs to know. To feel a mother's love. To know that she is there. That she's within arm's length, when story lines grow dark. Becoming ominous, sinister. That she is only a whisper away. When the plot thickens to a portentous climax. When the theatrics prove a bit too much to take.

For years, there's been a division between mothers in North America, between those who work out of the home, and those who don't. But as it turns out,...

Women in the U.S. are offered zero paid maternity leave, and they're practically the only ones. More women are going to school and joining the workforce but then -- boom! -- babies. And yes, while more and more Americans are working from home, there is little hope that a single shift will alleviate a working mother's workload. The shift needs to be one of national legislative proportions.

Balance? Sure. Whatever. Here's the truth: there is no balance. The truth is my needs change year after year and so do the needs of my family. Nothing is perfect. Nope. When I was a full-time stay-at-home mom with young kids, I went nuts. When I worked full time, I was so filled with guilt it nearly killed me.

Researchers found that 71 per cent of mothers in their sample were not doing what they really wanted to do postpartum, whether it was staying home or going back to work. This is saddening to me because most postpartum women are not happy with their circumstances when it is supposed to be a time of joy.