Tomorrow we celebrate Mothers’ Day, but today would have been my mother’s birthday – May 9. Betty & I are still staying put at Town & Country RV Park on the outskirts of Winnipeg Manitoba, so don’t have access to our archived family info., confirming Mom’s birthdate and the year she passed. Our memories aren’t what they used to be, but she would likely have been close to 100 years old now. We still miss her after many, many years. Mom was a great lady, but like those born on Dec. 25, her cards and presents were always combined – happy birthday slash mothers’ day… In hindsight, not sure how fair that was to her, since she should have been doubly celebrated every day of the year! Betty would say “ditto” for her mom too.
In my humble opinion, Betty has also been a great mom to our four grown kids, and a fine Nana to our three grandkids. (Can’t say she is a great grandma quite yet. Lol) Usually we would be getting together as a family to celebrate motherhood, but for everyone, this year is different.
Not only has the coronavirus been keeping us apart, it has also been creating a time warp, where days, weeks and months seem to blend together, and it is difficult to remember whether or not we are coming or going. It feels like we’re all caught in a recurring episode of “The Twilight Zone”, a TV series that scared the crap out of me as a kid!
Time may seem to be standing still, but we need to appreciate the benefits of delayed gratification. The definition of delayed gratification is “The ability to delay the impulse for an immediate reward to receive a more favorable reward at a later time.” Right now it is tempting to lose patience in waiting for the virus to pass, waiting for a treatment, or waiting for a vaccine. We want to return to normal and create a bright future, because being cooped up in isolation from friends and family is definitely not normal. But an even worse second wave can hit us if we disregard health warnings before COVID-19 is under control. Hold on!
Mothers’ Day 2020 is likely to be much different from any we have experienced in the past, and hopefully much different from all future Mothers’ Days. But we can still take the time to recognize and appreciate the unselfish efforts of our moms, the moms of our kids, and the moms of our grandkids. In my case, it’s a remembered hug with my mom, a real warm hug with the love of my life – my wife, and a virtual hug with our kids and grandkids. Looking forward to the real ones all round in future!
Stay safe, stay home, stay healthy and we’ll get through this together. Happy Mothers’ Day!
Cheers!
