BEST MOMS GIVE HUGS, LOVE DOGS, DON'T SERVE SEAWEED FOR DINNER.

Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY 

From the mouths of babes come the pearls that make this day so special - the day we pay homage to our mothers.

In honor of Mother's Day, more than 200 local elementary school children wrote essays on why ``My Mom Is the Best'' for a contest sponsored by the Jewish Home for the Aging in Reseda.

Some of these essays are so poignant, they break your heart. Others make you laugh out loud.

Here are some of the suggestions from the contest winners on how to be a great mom - just like theirs.

Your hair should be nice, you should keep a clean house, make good food, like dogs, and under no circumstances ever serve seaweed for dinner, says 6-year-old Gabriela Fernandez of Point Fermin Elementary School in San Pedro.

You should be funny and cool, love animals, always be ready to help with homework, and like everybody but the bad guys, writes 6-year-old Inbar Ovadia, a first-grader at Chatsworth Park Elementary School.

You should be kind and give food to the homeless, keep your promises, and comfort your children when they are scared, writes Juan Sosa, a third- grader at Will Rogers Elementary School in Santa Monica.

But most of all, you should be your child's hero - like his mom is, writes Steven Abkarians, a fourth-grader at Pomelo Drive Elementary School in West Hills.

``My mother is my hero,'' he begins. ``A few years ago, my mother had breast cancer, and she was very sick. Some days she could hardly walk or talk, but she would never let her breast cancer win. No matter how difficult, she would still help me with my homework and read to me.

``She fought her breast cancer with all her might. She fought it for my brother, my father and me. She would always kiss us and tell us she loves us.

``My mother is alive and well. I thank God every day for letting my mom stay on this Earth.

``My mother once told me her definition of a hero. She said that you do not have to be famous to be a hero. A hero only needs to be caring and loving, and that it takes a lot of courage to love unconditionally.

``Because my mother explained to me what a hero is all about, I now know deep down that she is one. You do not need to have muscles, money, or even good looks.

``All you need is a big heart and courage will follow. Mom, I am proud to call you my hero.''

Steven didn't want to let her read his essay after he finished it, Ida Abkarians said Friday.

``He wanted to keep it private, but I was a little hesitant,'' she said. ``I asked him, 'Steven are you sure what you wrote is appropriate?'

``He said, 'Mom, trust me.' But I asked my older son, Christopher, to check just in case. He read it and said, 'Mom, it's more than appropriate.'''

After he won first place among all the entries from fourth- and fifth- graders in the city, Steven finally read it to his mom.

He could have added one more line after he was finished. Heroes cry, too.

Rena Ovadia still hasn't read the essay her 6-year-old daughter, Inbar, wrote about her that won runner-up honors in the kindergarten and first- grade category.

``She wants to read it to me on Mother's Day,'' Rena said. But she has heard a little about what her daughter has written.

Most of it, as I mentioned above, is pretty funny, especially her mother liking everybody but the bad guys.

The rest of it is poignant - exactly the kind of feelings the best moms want their children to have.

``She always tucks me in at night and reads me a story,'' Inbar wrote. ``She loves me and I love her so much.

``When she kisses me, I feel safe. And every day I think of her, I feel safe.''

What better gift can a child give a mother on Mother's Day than to let them know you make them feel loved and safe?

``I know I'll cry when she reads it to me, but I want her to know how proud and happy I am, too,'' Rena said.

``I feel like I'm giving my daughter exactly what I want to give her,'' she said.

The best mothers always do.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) Inbar Ovadia gives her mother, Rena, a hug while Aida Abkarians holds tight to her son, Steven. In a Mother's Day essay contest, Inbar wrote mothers should be funny, love animals and always be ready to help with homework. Steven says he is proud to call his mother his hero.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer