‘How do we cope when showing our love is Russian roulette?’

Perfume adverts have returned after their post-valentine’s Day hiatus. Florists are clamouring for our bouquet expenditure. Retailers are urging us to give something unforgettable this Mother’s Day.

I don’t think they mean Covid-19 – although infecting your mother with a potentially fatal virus would certainly be memorable.

Never has the prospect of handdelivering a box of chocolates felt so fraught. What else might you be passing over along with the fondants?

When hugging your nearest and dearest is fast resembling Russian roulette it’s no wonder we’re all in disarray instead of ordering personalised pendants or wrapping ironic bottles of Mother’s Ruin gin.

The country is on high alert, lockdown looms. But unfortunately hard facts and NHS figures alone won’t solve the very personal dilemmas we face next week and beyond; there are myriad other factors at play.

We all know that over-70s with existing medical conditions are most likely to succumb to Covid-19, need hospitalisation and possibly perish.

We have been informed in grave tones by the Prime Minister that the lives of many loved ones will be lost before their time. And, of course, we have a duty to protect them.

But what if they are longing to see their children and grandchildren? We know how much they look forward to those fierce toddler hugs, dandling the new baby on their laps or simply being at the heart of family merriment – particularly on Mother’s Day.

Some would say that adult offspring have a responsibility to stay away because they have a different interpretation of a risk worth taking.

Others would argue Grandma has the sole right to decide when exactly she pulls up the proverbial drawbridge to safeguard her health. In truth, every generation is surveying the available

data and doing its best to assess the risks, weigh them up against the benefits and reach a decision. But are we basing those decisions on the same all-too human variables? I suspect not.

It is highly unlikely older people, with their life experience and sense of mortality, feel the same about the coronavirus emergency as millennials and generation Z-ers – those in their 20s and 30s who have elevated clean eating and living to a religion, and seemingly expect to live forever.

The elderly have endured hardship and dealt with loss. By and large, those I have spoken to are far more sanguine about this health scare than so-called “Generation Me”.

I’m somewhere in the middle.

I am a mother, but my parents are long gone. My husband’s stepmother lives in the far north of Scotland. Aged 80, she’s a working artist so social isolation is par for the course. But closer to home I have elderly neighbours, friends in fragile health, and I wouldn’t dream of casually dropping by without a phone call first to discuss any concerns.

Deserted railway platforms and empty shopping streets attest to our collective instinct to stay away from crowds and hunker down at home during this extraordinary time.

But Mother’s Day throws us a curveball.

This contagion has thrown a spotlight on the invisible threads that bind us; tying ourselves in knots is a corollary of the love and loyalty we retain for the women who raised us.

So just what is the right thing to do? That is down to every individual family.

Of course, the situation could radically alter over the next week. Rest assured The Telegraph will keep you up-to-date with developments.

The main thing is, whether you opt for a phone call or a Skype chat, low-key lunch, high tea or just a stroll in the garden – make this Mother’s Day matter.