Love in the Time of Corona. We are living in strange times. Weird is the word that keeps cropping up in messages and chats with friends and family. For many mums, step-mums, grand-mums, friend-mums, aunties and mums-to-be, this is going to go down in memory as a Mother’s Day to remember.

Some bad reasons – being distanced and unable to travel and see each other in person, the cancellation of afternoon teas and lunches out, postponement of pampering treats like massage and reflexology, not being able to get the ingredients to bake a cake or scones.

But motherly love transcends scones and tea. Being at home can be stressful, but perhaps if we let go of our expectations and embrace the mess, the disagreements, the mundane everyday, we can realise that being a mother to someone isn’t just about biology or whether you are in a certain place on a certain day having afternoon tea. It’s about love, help, kindness, reassurance, cheerleading, guidance and chatting about everything and nothing.

As I wrote in my last blog post, practicing gratitude is a positive way to improve our outlook. Practice is the key word – it’s not easy to feel grateful when things seem unfair or hurtful, but being thankful for the seemingly small things like a scribbled handmade card is a good place to start.

Love in the time of Corona (apologies to Gabriel García Márquez) is going to be different, surreal certainly, but not dimmed. If you’re lucky enough to be with your mother figure today, enjoy. If not, remember the last line of Philip Larkin’s An Arundel Tomb:

“What will survive of us is love.”
Happy Mother’s Day.