Mother's Day is May 9 and I have no idea what to buy for my mother.

In the past, I've bought her cards, knickknacks, clothes and jewelry. I've even given her cash and taken her out to dinner. I may have even bought her a book a time or two.

And every year I have to try to figure out something new to buy her.

It's not like I'm complaining about it. My mother made more sacrifices for me and my three siblings than most people will ever know.

From the time my father died in December 1981 until she remarried in 1997, she was a single parent who managed to feed and clothe her four children.

It wasn't easy for her. Each of us rebelled in our own little ways against punishment, curfews, rules and whatever else we didn't like. While all children go through those same stages, with four children, the sadness we created for our mother had to be unbearable. And even though there were nights where I knew she went to bed crying, she hung in there and continued to try to do the best she knew how and was capable of doing.

I love her for that. I don't know if she can ever know how much I appreciate everything she has done for me since I was born.

For example, when I was about 19 months old, I had a severe case of bronchial pneumonia. I almost died in the hospital, it was so severe. When the doctors couldn't feed me intravenously and didn't know what else to do, my mother fed me by hand and I ate.

Her motherly love healed me.

In the third grade when I missed a month of school due to bronchial pneumonia again, my mother not only took care of me, she also picked up my school work every day so I wouldn't fall behind. She fed me chicken soup and made me take my medicine, even though the taste was horrible.

Once I decided to go to Butler University, my mother told me to go for it if that's what I wanted to do. She helped me fill out all the necessary forms and picked up scholarship applications as they became available.

There are many examples of my mother's heroics, but for the sake of family privacy, I won't go into them here. She knows the sacrifices she has made and she may have made sacrifices that her children don't know she made.

I'd count on the number of personal sacrifices she made being high.

One reason I think my mother was able to hang on during the rough times was because of deep faith in her religion. While I question organized religion, she believes in God steadfastly. While I do things I know my mother doesn't approve of, my mother is a saint as far as I am concerned. She makes her mistakes, but she is the first to apologize and pray about them.

I may never understand her faith, though I've tried more than once. How can she have her "strict" views and deep beliefs when she has lost a husband, both her parents, sisters, brothers and others? How can she be a firm believer in God when she has faced more disappointment than happiness?

But her faith, her convictions give me hope that, yes, there is something bigger than I can dream. And because she believes in God without doubt, I know her love for me and my siblings is unconditional.

Which brings me back to my original question: What can I get for my mother to show her I love her unconditionally?

If I tell her I love her, will she know it tomorrow? If I buy her a material object, will she know the message behind the gift?

Knowing my mother, she knows I love her even when I fail to tell her. She knows I love her, regardless of whether or not I buy a $2 gift or a $2 million gift (not that I have $2 million).

My mother never owned much. She was never financially rich, but when it comes to her heart, she is richer than any banker, broker or CEO.

She, more than anyone I know, is my hero. I'm lucky to have her as my mother.

And as for a present, I think I'll let her pick it out, but it will come with my unconditional love. [[In-content Ad]]