MOTHER

"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person―he believed in me,” said Jim Valvano.

"You don’t raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they’ll turn out to be heroes, even if it’s just in your own eyes,” said Walter M. Schirra, Sr.

“I’ll never forget the moment I became a dad. It’s hard to describe that level of responsibility, the desire to give such joy,” said Tom Cruise.

"My father always told me, 'Find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life,'" said Jim Fox.

"Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad,” said Anne Geddes.

"Daddies don’t just love their children every now and then. It’s a love without end, amen,” said George Strait.

"The greatest mark of a father is how he treats his children when no one’s looking,” said Dan Pearce.

“Before I got married, I had six theories about raising children. Now, I have six children and no theories,” said John Wilmot.

"What I love most about fatherhood is the opportunity to be a part of the development process of a new life," said artist Seal.

“Men should always change diapers–it’s like washing the dishes, but imagine if the dishes were your kids, so you really love the dishes,” said Chris Martin.

“The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature,” said Antoine François Prévost.

"A father dosen't tell you that he loves you–he shows you,” said Demitri The Stoneheart.

"My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, 'You're tearing up the grass!' 'We're not raising grass,' Dad would reply, 'We're raising boys,'" said Harmon Killebrew.

"Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad,” says Anne Geddes.

"I want them to be rebellious in a way that doesn’t mean spitting at people or being bratty, but being individuals that question things,” said Gavin Rossdale on his kids.

"To her, the name of father was another name for love." ―Fresh Leaves, Fanny Fern.

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection,” said Sigmund Freud.

"I love every minute of fatherhood–staying up all night, changing nappies, kids crying. I find it really funny and inspiring. It connects you to the world in a new way,” said Elton John.

"He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it," said Clarence Budington Kelland.

"I cannot understand how I managed to cope without getting cuddled this many times a day,” said Russel Crowe.

"The greatest mark of a father is how he treats his children when no one’s looking,” said Dan Pearce.

“I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom,” said Umberto Eco.

“It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.” ―To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

"It was my father who taught me to value myself. He told me that I was uncommonly beautiful and that I was the most precious thing in his life,” said Dawn French.

“It is not flesh and blood, but heart which makes us fathers and sons,” said Johann Friedrich von Schiller.

“A father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a woman he turns her back again,” said Enid Bagnold.

“In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. ‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.'” —The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

"When my father didn’t have my hand, he had my back," said Linda Poindexter.

"The quality of a father can be seen in the goals, dreams and aspirations he sets not only for himself, but for his family,” said Reed Markham.

"It is admirable for a man to take his son fishing, but there is a special place in heaven for the father who takes his daughter shopping," said John Sinor.