Dear mothers who learned skills out of necessity, today we celebrate you. We applaud the mothers who learned how to drive not because they wanted to, but because they had to. Although there were fears to overcome, you did not waste any time to get behind the wheel to be able to take your children to school and run the necessary everyday errands.

Like a trusted car brand, you are the definition of reliability, empowerment, safety and strength. Like a fierce truck or SUV, you know how to brave uncharted territory and face the elements like a boss. You live your lives like a built-in accident-mitigation system for your children whether on the road or off it. Unknowingly, you are a living example to your children on how to face challenges to the very best of your abilities. You are teaching them a proper sense-of-self just by being in the driver seat.

With everyday life engulfed in trials, difficulties, and deception, you still choose to teach your children that the easy path is not always the right one. And that once it is their time to take on the challenges of the road—literally and figuratively—they can remember to keep their integrity amid poor systems, and that they should, in fact, learn from their very own mistakes without your interference (nor your influence).

You are the ones who know what it’s like to nurture your children hard enough only to eventually let them go. For all of this and more, we say there is no strength quite like that of a mother’s. Happy Mother’s Day.