While Mother’s Day in my household is not the most festive of holiday’s, the day reigns as important as a moment where my family can step aside from the daily hassle of our lives to enjoy and embrace the many women, in addition to my own mother, within my family. What is usually filled with brunch and visiting my aunts, uncles, and Grandmother, is this year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, will be replaced with stay-at-home festivities.
On a usual Mother’s Day, we first start off by going out to a late breakfast of my mom’s choice, typically one of the many, many diners within a 5-mile radius from my home. Her decision in breakfast is usually an easy one, going all in with the sweet tooth-type breakfast pastry with extra whipped cream. While we make fun of her for her love and obsession for sugar, as we quote her special whipped cream speech she declares every time we go out to eat, we appreciate these little quirks about her and our teasing is out of love. It is her day of course, why shouldn’t she go all out.
After our extravagant meal, we head home where my mother simply does whatever she chooses, lacking most responsibilities for the day, before heading to my aunt’s house. At her house, all of the family members on my paternal side gather. Our celebration is simple, we eat, we talk, we enjoy each other’s presence. It becomes an excuse to see one another, which becomes difficult due to our busy lives.
However, the Coronavirus has taken away our simple traditions and celebrations, yet this does not mean that our day to celebrate the women in our lives should be taken away. While, as a broke college student, I am not able to afford an extravagant gift for my mother, I will do everything in my power to make the day extra special for her. This year, I plan on waking up at the crack of dawn (more like 9 AM), in order to make her breakfast. Despite not going out for breakfast this year, I can add the extra whipped cream to her pancakes, making sure her sugar consumption is met.
We will play board games, or any online games, giving into her constant asking to play them. Even though my whole family is home due to the virus that has forced us together for the past two months, my brother, myself, and my dad have been stuck in school, not letting us play games that she begs us for.
In terms of visiting my family, my parents and I have planned a visit to my Grandmother’s house on Sunday afternoon, with her sitting on her high porch and my family sitting on the bottom step. My Grandmother is the main force and center within my family on my paternal side. I, personally, have an extremely close relationship with her; to not see her on this holiday would break my heart. Seeing her would not only brighten my mood, but make her much happier as well, especially knowing that she lives alone in her house.
So while the Pandemic is ruining plans for this simple, yet important holiday, it is important to note that Mother’s Day will not be ruined. Mother’s Day is about honoring the mother’s and motherly figures in your life, not going out to breakfast or buying expensive gifts. My mother is the main person to go grocery shopping, not only for my family, but my great aunt as well, as she feels that there should only be one consistent family member venturing out to the grocery store. She also, while not directly working on the front lines of the pandemic, is a dentist, meaning that she has been having to work on patients who are considered ‘emergencies.’ The fact of the matter is my mother puts her well-being on the line every day to provide for my family and, despite Mother’s Day’s disruption by COVID-19, it is these moments that we should learn to appreciate our mother’s more.