A Mother’s Day without hugs?
Brunching with mom in Orlando and Winter Park gets creative
Ryan Kelley threw caution to the wind and hugged his mother Sunday.
Brenda Kelley, 62, appreciated her son’s daring sign of affection
Sunday, though she toted a 10-ounce dispenser of Purell to Mother’s Day brunch at Maxine’s on Shine.
Mother’s Day without a hug? She couldn’t imagine, she said.
Mom’s special day felt a bit eerie to some in Central Florida because of the coronavirus, blamed for more than 1,700 deaths in Florida, including 35 in Orange County.
Social-distancing guidelines kept some moms from their children and state orders restricting restaurants to 25% indoor occupancy limited brunch options.
Servers wore masks and sterile gloves.
Theme parks were closed. Nursing homes remained locked to visitors because of the risk of spreading COVID-19, which has proven more lethal to seniors.
Even Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who loves his mother, had urged residents to keep a safe distance from their moms or suggested saying “I Love You” by
Zoom.
“We still hold the power to protect our loved ones, ourselves and every person,” the mayor said Friday at a coronavirus briefing.
His own plans included seeing his mother in person, but “no hugs.”
“I know it’s difficult for me,” he said. “But my mom’s always been there for me, and changing the way I honor her this special day is a way I can be there for her.”
Brenda Kelley said she did not feel a hug was risky. The family is usually cautious, sanitizing and wearing face masks. They also spend a lot of time together.
“It’s our safe little bubble,” said Ryan, 41.
Nonetheless, Dr. Raul Pino, the state’s health officer in Orange County, urged people to continue to observe social distancing, even on Mother’s Day.
He said if you must hug mom: Mask yourself and her, hold your breath while hugging, make it quick, no talking.
“I would do all that if I had to give my mother a hug today,” he said.
Maxine Earhart greeted customers at her restaurant wearing a face-shield marked “safely serving you” and a mother’s pin which had been her mother’s mother’s.
Musician Justin Kangrga played guitar and sang for tips outside the front door.
Some customers who pulled up to retrieve call-in, carry-out orders decided to sit and eat at the neighborhood restaurant’s outdoor tables.
“On a normal Mother’s Day, we’d be packed,” Earhart said.
If not for coronavirus, Josh and Karla Welch might have celebrated Sunday at Walt Disney World with son Asher, 3, and baby
Mila, age 10 months.
“We’d have at least thought about it,” said Josh, 32.
The couple instead pushed a double-decker stroller around Lake Eola Heights, enjoying the weather. They FaceTimed their own mothers.
In Winter Park, where the city closed off Park Avenue to traffic, outdoor tables were filled with feted moms.
Dana Dougherty, 58, an Oviedo mother of five, sipped wine and strolled the brick street with an entourage of 12 family members, including Slade, born a month ago.
“I expect hugs,” Dougherty said. “It’s Mother’s Day.”
They scouted for a brunch place, though they planned to break their party into two groups to meet state guidelines for restaurants restricting groups to 10 or less.
Mother’s Day, observed on the second Sunday of May in the U.S., has been celebrated as a national holiday since President Woodrow Wilson signed it into law in 1914.
According to its annual Mother’s Day spending survey, the National Retail Federation said two-thirds of consumers expected to celebrate Mother’s Day virtually.
While fewer consumers planned traditional outings, 46% still wanted to be with mom.
“These plans may be more aspirational than realistic given the current environment, but they do show that consumers are eager to recreate a sense of normalcy in these times,” the federation said in a report posted on its website. “In actuality, those special outings might take place as a socially distant walk or standing on mom’s lawn to wave ‘hello.’”
Health data underscores the need to protect moms, especially those aged 65 or older with diabetes or who have an underlying medical condition such as diabetes.
Across the state, the virus has killed 656 patients at nursing homes and assisted living facilities, including 22 at a facility near St. Petersburg and 16 at a Broward facility.
Those care centers account for almost 40% of the state’s confirmed deaths from COVID-19.