YOU SAID:
my mother returned home from work with a gleam in her eyes
INTO JAPANESE
母が目を輝かせて仕事から帰ってきた
BACK INTO ENGLISH
Mother came back from work with bright eyes
INTO JAPANESE
母は明るい目で仕事から帰ってきた
BACK INTO ENGLISH
Mother came back from work with bright eyes
That didn't even make that much sense in English.