Mother S Day

Job search Starting pay, benefits rising Job-search times are shortening, while starting salaries and other benefits are on the rise, according to a prominent outsourcing-and-research company. The average job search this year is taking less than three months, compared with four months in the fall of 2004, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "The labor market is starting to look more and more like the one we experienced in the late 1990s," said CEO John Challenger. "Companies are undoubtedly reluctant to increase their costs, but it has become necessary to boost salaries and special benefits in order to attract and retain the top talent."

SHE'S BEEN MORE THAN JUST YOUR MOTHER. Through the years, she's been your protector, your confidante, your cheerleader and your best friend. And in one week, it will be Mother's Day, the day to show your love and appreciation for your own mom, as well as for all of the other moms in your life. This year, the average person in the U.S. is expected to spend $122.16 on Mom, an increase from last year's expenditure of $104.63, according to the National Retail Federation. And what are folks buying for all that money?

4 Home runs hit by Digital Harbor's softball team in a 15-5 win over Poly last Wednesday. Joy Ann Line hit two of them to boost her season total to five. 18 Days until the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland girls lacrosse championships, which will be held on Mother's Day, May 14.

If ever there was a woman who reveled in Mother's Day, it was Sue Ebert. There she was yesterday, a woman used to pampering others at her hair salon, sauntering down Hampden's Avenue, crowned and bejeweled as "a queen for the day." "They made me wear it," the 43-year-old said, pointing at the tiara crowning her head, her three children trailing behind her. "I got my crown. I got my bling-bling." And there was more to come. After lunch at Cafe Hon, another Mother's Day gift, there was shopping to do. "I love Mother's Day," she cooed.

A smile spread across Mikaila Ward's face as she started telling a story about her mom. "I dance after school. When I had my last recital, my brother and sisters couldn't attend. I felt really bad they couldn't make it. So my mom brought my stuffed monkey, Sheila, to the recital. She took pictures of Sheila looking at the program and sitting in the seat next to her. It helped me dance better because I knew my mom and Sheila were there for me," the 9-year-old from Fallston said of her mother, Susan Ward.

Your mother is so great! She makes you want to just pile on the flowers and candies and take her to lunch or breakfast next weekend for Mother's Day. Your Mom would probably really appreciate it, too; you know how easy it is to make her happy. But wouldn't she just love, love, love it if you made the annual Mommy-day gift a little more personal? This year, it's all about the personalized gift -- the present that says something about her, or her interests, your relationship or your love for each other.

Once, twice, thrice upon a Mother's Day, there was a mom who thought: "If this day were truly mine, it wouldn't be about roses and breakfast in bed. It wouldn't be about some generic mom. It would be a celebration of me." Roses are nice, the mom reasoned, but she preferred flowers from the garden. Breakfast in bed was fine, but why not have brunch on the porch, or in the grass? Sure, she liked perfume, but why not something a little crazy or out of the blue that suits her particular tastes?

LA CAPILLA, Mexico -- The last time Adan Espinoza Canela called this dusty town was on Mother's Day, when the 17-year-old told his mother he remembered the holiday because of a television commercial and assured her that life was good for him in Baltimore. "If he was a bad person, he would not remember Mother's Day," said his mother, Teresa Canela Chacha, as she tearfully recalled last month's telephone call. Chacha, who raised Canela and his four siblings by herself in this poor village in the state of Veracruz, said she can't imagine that her son committed the gruesome crime he is accused of -- killing his three young cousins with a knife last month in Northwest Baltimore.

On deck For Mother's Day, today players will wear and all bases will carry a logo of a batter over a pink ribbon. He said it "It's a long way to run when you have to do it all over again. What are the odds?" Josh Phelps, Blue Jays DH, who homered four pitches after having an eighth-inning home run overturned Who's hot Lyle Overbay of the Brewers has a 10-game hitting streak and is batting .500 (19-for-38) with 17 RBIs over that stretch. Who's not The Pirates are 2-11 against the Dodgers at home since PNC Park opened in 2001.

MOTHER'S DAY is normally one day of the year when I feel no ambivalence. As the often exhausted mother of three children, ages 10 years, 8 years and 9 months, I am perfectly clear that I deserve every card and muffin that's heading my way. In past years, I have serenely enjoyed breakfast in bed, fancy brunches and even that rarest of joys - time alone to read. I have graciously accepted gifts of handmade picture frames and pins, and I have received cards praising me in words big and small.