Mother’s Day ‘hard, really hard’ for families
‘I think for the past eight weeks all I have wanted to do is hug my mom’
Mother’s Day was tough for many this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has force the separation of so many from their loved ones.
While the easing of some restrictions have allowed the opening of things like the Waterfront Trail, quarantine has left many waving at loved ones from the curb.
At Heritage Green Nursing Home Sunday, members of the Perks family stood outside waving to family matriarch Florence in her second story window.
She is confined to her room for her safety.
“It’s hard. It’s really hard,” said her daughter Margaret Perks.
“On a normal Mother’s Day we would all come up to visit. We would all (26 in all) be there in that room with her.”
Her mother’s hushed voice could be heard through the speaker of the cellphone Margaret held. “They’re waving. They’re all waving,” Florence said as the assembled crowd waved at her.
“It’s hard for her,” said Margaret. “She used to be able to go down to the sunroom and sit together there. There was one lady down there that took her under her wing and would hold her hand the whole time.”
Margaret from her mom a tea, Kit Kat bar and sweater. Brother Joseph and his wife Sharon brought shortbread, chocolate and chocolate cookies for Florence’s sweet tooth. The items had to be dropped off at a table in the lobby to be delivered to the room.
Among the walkers on the Waterfront Trail Sunday morning was Rebecca Pearce-Peters and her family.
How’s Mother’s Day in a COVID-19 year?
“I would say I’ve been really lucky as a mom. My kids (Hannah, 7, and Mason, 9) made me breakfast in bed. Raisin toast and coffee.”
“I think it’s hard not being close to my mom, especially. It’s hard not giving her a hug. I think for the past eight weeks all I have wanted to do is hug my mom.”
“We wave to them from a distance. We know that keeping them safe now will let us hug them in the future,” she said. Her parents are isolating at home and are in the vulnerable 65-70 age group. “If they get sick something could happen to them so we’ve kept out distance and kind of waved to them from afar, hoping that they stay safe.”
“We do all their grocery shopping so they can stay safe that when this is all done we can hug them because they are still here with us.”
“So for Mother’s Day we got some flowers for our grandmas. We painted some rocks to put in the garden. And the kids made them cards.”
At the corner of Main and Ottawa shoppers were busy buying up potted flowers and hanging baskets Mother’s Day morning.
The business owners said business was busy on Saturday despite the unseasonable snow showers. They were expecting business Sunday to be even better. A truck arrived early delivering 400 hydrangeas.