You can count on one hand things I've done 100% right in my life and have fingers left over to scratch your ears. The best thing I ever did was to marry up.

It was Christmas eve in 1972 when I turned to my girlfriend, Christine Thiel, during the sign of peace at Midnight Mass to not only wish her a Merry Christmas but to ask for her hand in marriage. I then proceeded to slip an engagement ring on her finger.

Later that evening after Mass, I had "the conversation" with my in-laws to be. "We're very disappointed in both of you," was their conclusive statement. Shortest motivational speech I've ever heard.

A year and one half later, we got married in the men's room at the old Coldstream Country Club in Irmo, SC. It was supposed to take place on the 18th green, but it rained on our parade. Such is life.

On July 6, we mark our 35th anniversary, so it has managed to stick despite the ups and downs that every relationship endures.

I made the commitment that Christmas Eve that I would see this through and my in-laws are among my closest friends today despite a start was somewhat challenging, to say the least. I guess, as the old saying goes, it stood the test of time.

Christine is the most important person in my life. We were married for five years before we decided to have children, and lo and behold, we had twin sons right off the bat. We made a conscious decision that one of us would stay home to raise Cory and Jason.

Christine is a Registered Nurse by profession but hasn't practiced for most of our marriage because of our commitment to be there for Cory, Jason and our third son, Christopher. I submit to you that her job as a stay-at-home mom was infinitely more important and harder than any professional career that she or I would have.

When I speak to various corporations, wives will often come up to me and comment on my presentation. Some will offer, "What can I do… I'm only a mother?" My answer is simple. Madam if you don't do your job correctly, it makes very little difference what the rest of us do.

Being a mother is clearly the most difficult job one could have, and anyone who says otherwise just ain't being honest. It's the most underpaid overworked responsibility on the planet. Being a mother of twins is "double trouble" as the expression goes.

My mother lost three children before producing 11 in a row. As my late father pointed out after the fact, "When we found out what was causing it, we put a stop to it!" Talk about a juggling act!

My mother-in-law, Rita Thiel, had eight kids of her own. I have nothing but admiration for these women because of their tremendous ability to multi-task.

Working mothers do triple duty. They have a full time job at work and a full time job at home. To be honest, most men have little appreciation for what these special "sheros" endure. One might argue that their third job of being a wife is even more stressful than the other two.

It seems like I'm backing the bus over my fellow males here, but actually, I'm not really sucking up because Mother's Day is coming up; I'm actually pointing out the obvious here.

So here's the drill. Find a way to make the mothers of the world feel special when their day rolls around in May. Any idiot can go to Hallmark and buy a card. Try writing your own on the back of a board like I did one year for my mother. I actually carved a wooden cross for my mother-in-law. Don't do the obvious; go with something different, and I don't mean a six-pack of suds and a can of cashews.