Mom

On Mother’s Day, those of us who could spent it with Mom.

For some of course, they have passed on. Or they live 1000 miles away. This is the first time we may have deliberately stayed away from our childhood homes and our moms because we were afraid we may inadvertently bring the unwelcome guest that can make them sick and even kill them.

So, we try to get them to figure out Zoom and YouTube and put the kids in front of the camera and pretend we are all together.

But a mother knows better. A mother knows those warm hugs and kisses from her six-year-old granddaughter don’t translate over the internet. She knows when this may be the last time she sees the daughter or son. She knows her life has changed in a way that she never imagined — and she’s seen a lot of weird things happen.

All of us need to take stock in the lessons learned from the pandemic. Is a mask that stifles germs worth the warmth of a kiss? What is a virtual hug, anyway? Is this what the future holds?

The answer is of course, no. But now that Mother’s Day is behind us, some of us are embracing the Devil May Care thought process some citizens are harboring — they want to get back to a normal way of life.

It’s tempting. It’s better to vow that this won’t happen ever again, that we will never be told we can’t hug our moms or visit our elders in hospitals and nursing homes. Maybe it is time, to use a Governor Cuomo analogy, to bury this beast and be rid of it for good. But it takes patience.

So instead of wavering, let’s stay the course and stay on the front lines, and never have to do this again.

Mom would like that.