When it comes to love, mother knows best. Except when she doesn’t.

Once in college, I foolishly forwarded my mom a mass email from my crush. She responded by WRITING HIM BACK, misspelling his name and using the sentence: “Carrie thinks you’re a very special person and I think she’s a very special person, too.”

He, to my mother’s great dismay, found another very special person to marry.

At the time of the email debacle, I was beyond mortified. I couldn’t understand why or how my mother would take my nascent love life into her own hands. But now, after years of maturity and separate-but-equal email relations with my mother, I realize she interceded in the spirit of love. She truly thought she was helping me find my own special snowflake.

And to this day, she refuses to admit she was wrong. “You should tell someone when you think they’re great,” she insists. “You don’t have to ask for anyone else’s permission.” Not even your daughter’s.

Read Postcards From Mommywood:
Lessons My Mother Taught Me

Moms are famous for dishing out advice left and right, but never is it whispered more urgently than on the dating field. Moms often make a profound impact on our hearts – whether they’re guiding us gently, pushing us over the edge or sharing wisdom we may not appreciate for years to come.

In honor of Mother’s Day, I asked men and women from around the country to share the best dating advice they ever received from their mothers. Some of their answers are hilarious, some are poignant, but all are unforgettable.

1. “No Valentine is better than a bad Valentine.” – Nicole, Seattle

2. “Always have your own money.” – Carla, West Hollywood, Calif.

3. “Not everybody has to get married.” – Greg, Council Bluffs, Iowa