A few years ago, for Mother’s Day, we took my mother-in-law to the New York Botanical Gardens. As an artist whose paintings of flowers are as vivid as anything we could ever see at the gardens, she was thrilled and said it was one of the Mother’s Day memories she’d always hold dear.
It was perfection for me, as well.
The weather was just right, the flowers were in perfect bloom. And there was just enough of a crowd to bring it all to life.
Socially Distanced
Naturally, with COVID raging throughout the globe, we were unable to take my mom or mother-in-law anywhere last Mother’s Day. We weren’t even able to see them. This year was the same since we weren’t all vaccinated in time to gather.
We all have so much to catch up on. Missed birthdays, holidays, and life moments like births and graduations, publication of a debut novel (ha!), and even some of the beauty of nature.
Remember When…
Keepsake memories were not made this past year. Rather, it’s a year many of us wish we 
could forget. But memories of past years, past celebrations, and past moments remain. And now, as we begin to step out of the darkness of this global pandemic, we can look forward to making new memories. To next Mother’s Day’s outing. To the next birthday party or wedding.
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.
– Hal Borland, nature journalist
Lessons Learned
One thing I’ve learned this past year, though, is that the annual celebrations are nice, a great reprieve from the daily drudge. But the days in between matter as much, if not more.
A small smile for a stranger, a wave across a wide boulevard, a call to a friend or even a handwritten letter…these are all things we can continue, or start, to keep connections going. To forge a trail of memories, small and special, for ourselves and those we love.
I know we’re not out of the woods yet. People are still contracting this virus and suffering because of it. But there’s hope now that science and personal behaviors can somewhat mitigate the worst of it.
And just as seasons continue to change, we will soon be able to gather again without masks, without distancing, and without quite as much concern, so we can celebrate just being together. Again.
And create yet more beautiful memories.
