Mother's Day: A Time to Remember

It's Mother's Day again, and whether your mom is still with us or gone, it's a time when we all can't help but stop for a moment, and recall all of those memories about her that we still hold in our hearts -- the touching ones, the inspiring ones, the sad ones and the funny ones.

For some reason, this year I keep thinking about the funny moments I had with my mother. Before she married my dad, she was in show business -- a singer on the radio -- and she knew how to nail a joke as well as my dad and his nightclub comedian pals. In fact, she couldn't wait to tell you a joke or something she'd done -- even if it didn't flatter her -- just for the pleasure of seeing you laugh.

One of my most lasting memories of Mom's sense of humor happened in the most unlikely of places. It was early morning, and we were in the hospital, where Mom was scheduled for an operation. Just moments before her surgery, I was sitting beside her on her hospital bed, and I was combing her hair -- because she didn't want to "look a mess" when she went into the operating room. Then she said, "I want to tell you a joke."

"Great, Mom," I said. "I love your jokes."

So she sat up straight and began:

"Two guys are talking. One guy says, 'Doc, I need to have my eyes examined.' The other guy says, 'I'll say. You're in a gas station.'"

The second she hit the punchline, I howled -- and Mom got that impish smile on her face, the same one she got whenever she won over an audience.

"Do you think it's funny?" she asked me.

"Of course I do, Mom," I said. "You made me laugh!"

"Good," she said "because I want to tell it when I get in there."

I love that story because it reminds me of who my mother was and how much she loved to make people laugh. Here she was about to have an operation, and what was on her mind was what joke to tell to the doctors and nurses when she got into the operating room. It makes me smile still to think of it. She was one of a kind.

Over the years, I've heard some really lovely stories -- and some pretty funny ones, too -- from friends of mine about their own moms. I've also recently reached out to some of my Facebook followers and asked them to share some of their most memorable stories about their mothers.

And so, in honor of Mother's Day, we've put together a slideshow of celebrity Mom stories, mixed in with some of the best stories we heard from you. I hope you like them and you can even add your own story and photo to the slideshow.

Take a look. And Happy Mother's Day!