MARK MY WORD: MOMS WORK MAGIC WITH HAIR BOWS, MATCHING SOCKS

Moms are a special breed.

Even after seven years of being a dad, I'm continually amazed how Joni can find matching socks for the kids.

It's truly an art, equally as noteworthy as watching a woman shop for shoes.

When I walk into the children's room, I'm overwhelmed by the pile of clothes on the floor, as well as the clothes in the basket, stuffed in drawers and hanging in the closet.

Joni, on the other hand, can find just the right pair of red socks crammed in a corner of 3-year-old Bailey's top drawer.

She can find matching tops and bottoms within minutes. The same task would take me all morning.

On the other hand, Joni often can't find her own socks. She calls on me to do it.

Of course, Joni doesn't have as many clothes as our daughters. Our girls have enough garments to outfit the entire population of a Third World country. That doesn't even include the stuff under the bed.

These days, 7-year-old Becca gets herself dressed most mornings.

She even helps get her sister dressed at times.

Joni can get herself and both girls ready in the same time it takes me just to wake up.

Naturally, I try to help. But I don't move on her time schedule.

Becca understands the situation. When she was younger, I had to practically push her out the door to get to school on time.

Now, she regularly tells me to hurry up when Joni goes to work early and leaves me the task of getting the girls to school and day care.

Like any good dad, I've learned some dressing tips. With Bailey, it's best to put her in a dress and white socks. That way, I don't have to worry about having a mismatched outfit.

You know it's a mismatched outfit when a day-care worker comments that you must have dressed the child.

Fortunately over time, I've settled on a few acceptable outfits for Bailey, which I let her wear over and over again.

As for Becca, she normally seems to have a good fashion sense or at least matching, clean clothes.

Moms, I've discovered, are good at packing lunches for school and seeing to it that the homework is in the backpack.

They're also good with hair bows, something that I've never mastered.

Most guys just don't have a clue about hair bows. In matters of hair decor, I defer to Joni.

Clearly, this mothering stuff is worth celebrating.

That's why you see dads in card stores this time of year searching for an appropriate Mother's Day card.

With a little help from Hallmark, we figure we can talk moms into handling all these tough chores for another year.

So before you ask me to do something with that hair bow, let me just say: Happy Mother's Day.

~Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.