We Need More Mother's Days

This column was written by CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.

Mothers are underappreciated, and it's kind of a shame that we even have to have a day to honor them. My own mother was a wonder. I was the last of her eight children, and I always knew she was in my corner.

I wasn't a perfect kid, but she was pretty close to being perfect. The best thing she did was share her passions. She loved the outdoors; she could name most every tree and plant. She could look at birds all day. While her formal education stopped with junior high school, she was never not reading a book.

The most important thing she taught me was to appreciate life's little gifts — a breeze, sunlight through a maple tree.

If I had it to do over again, I'd have made more days Mother's Days.