by Pauline D. Loh

BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Sunday is Mother's Day. You can buy her chocolates or carnations, but wine reviews Pauline D. Loh believes a hug, a kiss and a homemade cake will show your appreciation much better.

These three quotes just about sum up motherhood best. Up until the day I became a mother, I did not know the meaning of a mother's unconditional love. The first time I held my baby, wrinkled and red like a little hairless monkey, emotions ran riot. There was love and fear mingled with trepidation and lofty hopes.

And then my eyes turned to my own mother, who had stayed beside me throughout the long and difficult labor. For the first time in my life, I was truly thankful for her, and to her.

My baby son is now a strapping man who towers above me and he lives a full and independent life, with just the occasional hallo for his mother through a text message or an email. We live 1,000 km apart, but the bonds are close.

My mother, too, is almost 80, a little lady with a head of silverwhite hair whose feisty spirit still fuels her drive for life as she city-hops among her three children in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing.

There is also my mother-in-law, who loves me like her own child, and for whom I have the greatest affection and appreciation.

Both my mother and mother-in-law went through pretty tough times, bringing up their children as single parents. For my mother, it was through choice, but fate had left my mom-in-law widowed at a young age. Whatever the reason, nothing changes the fact that both women exhibited the indomitable traits of motherhood - apparent in the relative success of their offsprings.

Being a mother these days is becoming more challenging. Don't believe everything you hear about the Asian Tiger Mother. We're practically de-clawed these days, having to put on velvet gloves to handle our children.

You cannot demand blind obedience any more, and you have to be mother, friend, confidante and fashion consultant all in one.

You need to have IQ to deal with increasingly smart youngsters whose weapons are logic and the art of debate. But mainly, you have to have the EQ to guide them through Internet love aff airs, bewildering career choices, competitive office politics and finally, have enough wisdom to let go when they have found their own spouses.

Motherhood is like learning how to cycle. It becomes second nature once you know how to, but you spend the rest of your life wondering how to master the art of negotiating heavy traffic without accident.

In contrast, cooking is much simpler. So to all mothers, for all mothers, here's a cake for you - a cake that is traditionally made for Mothering Sunday, but which I think is timeless, like a mother's love.

One of the ingredients used is almond paste, and as we all know, almonds keep the complexion young and youthful. In traditional Chinese medicine, almonds nourish the lungs (which must have suffered for all that yelling at the kids) and are a mild and nurturing tonic.

I have also included a really simple salad, which is very pretty but easy to do, and full of springtime flavors - easy on the eye and a real palate pleaser for the modern mom. Prepare this salad for your mother as a special treat and God knows we all need an occasional pampering. Happy Mother's Day!