As Mother's Day rolls around, let's review what a typical mom can usually look forward to on her special day:

She wakes to the smell of butter sizzling, the clink of pots, and the opening and closing of cupboards. "Shhhhh!" the oldest child commands. "You'll wake up Mommy!"

"How sweet," she thinks, smiling into the pillow. "They're making me breakfast." She meditates for a moment on how lucky she is to have a husband who would rise early to orchestrate this effort, until he rolls over, and she realizes in a flash of cold horror that the kids are in the kitchen, working the oven. ALONE.

Oh. No.

Three seconds later, she is standing in the kitchen, trying to take it all in. The dog is nose-deep in a tub of margarine. Pancake batter covers much of the stove and counter. The table contains an array of spilled glitter, Mother's Day cards in various stages of completion and 375,000 loose crayons and markers. As she reaches to rescue the morning paper from a puddle of … something, she notices the dishwasher is emitting a strange chemical smell. (That would be the laundry, coagulating under four cups of hand soap.) One child is doing syrup shots straight from the bottle. The other is under the table, making a pancake batter snowman. The cats, which possess a keener instinct for disaster than most creatures, are hiding.

This is not a sitcom, or a commercial for Denny's, or a scene from a Steve Martin movie.

This is motherhood, and there is no way out.

But there is a way to show a great woman that her sacrifices, battle scars and sleepless nights are not in vain. This Mother's Day, Grace magazine, The Day, Sava Insurance and Simply Majestic are holding a contest to honor three women who handle the ups and downs of motherhood with creativity, good humor and most of all, grace. We want to hear about women who make the good times great and the bad times better, and who inspire others to be strong, show love and seek joy in every day life.

"Make Mom's Day" contest

[naviga:ul][naviga:li]In 400 words or less describe the coolest mom you know.[/naviga:li][naviga:li]Enter April 28 through May 13 at www.theday.com/mom.[/naviga:li][naviga:li]Grace and Day.com readers will select three finalists. The winner, who will be profiled in Grace, and the two runners up will all receive terrific prizes. Winners will be announced on May 20.[/naviga:li][/naviga:ul]