Mother's Day 2020 Drive-By

Guest Author, Eze Hayes

Today was nothing like every other Sunday.  It is Mother’s Day 2020, and I am spending it unlike any of the previous Mother’s Days of my life.  In the past, this was the one Sunday I would go to Mema’s church to sit behind her with my siblings who were there to honor our mother in person.

But this is the day the Lord has made and I will accept what it is...the environment we are faced to be in, and accept the fact that God has a plan.  Prayerfully, we will understand it by and by.  As for me, it has been a time of reflection...a time to prioritize the things that are important in my life.  I am so very blessed to have my mother still with me, unlike so many of my friends.   For them, they may be tearful or crying because they no longer have an opportunity to see their mothers on this, God’s earth.

Although I have not seen my mom in just short of two months, what a day...what a day today was.   I left shortly after noon for the family “Mema drive-by” that was to take place at 2:30. The trip to Greenwich would typically take about 15-20 minutes!!   My heart had been pounding from the time I got into my car to drive to Connecticut until the wee hours of Monday morning...anxiety had consumed my body.

I drove to Old Greenwich first so I could see our patriarch, my mother’s brother, Uncle Frank.  My grandmother was an invalid and needed a caretaker so as the oldest girl, that became my role.  I lived with my Ma and my uncle up until the time I got married.  We were just two doors away from my parents, but that arrangement resulted in a very special love for my Ma and Uncle Frank.

I got to mom’s about 45 minutes before the scheduled meeting so it gave me a little time to pull myself together.   Of course, all that ended once I saw siblings, my sister’s significant other, nephew, and my nephew’s  fiancée.

Then to see our Mema on her porch was an emotion that is indescribable.   Mema was thoroughly thrilled with seeing her family as you could tell by the big grin on her face.  She even had a FaceTime visit from Maryland with the Sanchez family grand and greats. 

And, it has never been a surprise to anyone in our family who she was most happy to see as she yelled, “my boy” when the family emerged in front of her porch.   Zach lived with our mother from a very early age up until a little over a year ago when Mema moved into the senior housing apartment she now lives in.   I’m not sure who was more happy..Zach or Mema!

Mother’s Day 2020 will probably go down as one of the most significant days in my life.

My tears/crying as I left were because I saw my mother yet could not hold her or kiss her as I wished her a Happy Mother’s Day.   Yet, the Lord had given us a spectacular day because she is still here and we got to see her.   This now becomes the beginning of the new normal we will all have to get used to.   So, I believe God wants us to put love first...not just for our families but for all humankind, and this is how I would like to think I will prioritize my life.