A Coronavirus dominated Mothers' Day

Things to do on Mothers' Day

A jigsaw fills the time on Mothers's Day. It is something to do when quarantined.

Who would have thought a couple of weeks ago that Boris Johnson would now be telling us the best present we can give to our mothers this year is to stay isolated from them? Challenging times indeed. It is natural to want to be with family on this special day, but, of course, we have to do what keeps everyone as safe as possible.

I was thinking back to the type of thing that we would usually do as a family on this day - it is likely that we would have a brunch at our favourite Sheraton Grande, or perhaps a walk in Rama 9 Park (along with half of Bangkok!). This year I am lucky that I have the girls with me back in Broughton so we can enjoy Mothers' Day, I even received a lovely card and flowers from my little scamps. I can't pretend it isn't a bit rubbish not having Mick with us but we are lucky to all still have each other.

It feels a little bit like the time between Christmas and New Year when there isn't that much to do and the hours in the day seem to drag on. As we're self-isolating as much as possible, we've not got an awful lot planned for the day but here are some of the activities I've still planned for us to do:

- Watch a TV show we all like together
- Complete a jigsaw (or in my case, watch Annie complete it from the comfort of the sofa!)
- Make a nice meal (although really on Mothers' Day I should be the one being cooked for!) 
- Chat about Mothers' days in the past.
- Not forget to give ourselves our own time and space!

Happy Mothers' Day to mothers near and far!

Mothers' Day from a Distance

I do feel a lot of sympathy for families who can't be together at all and are only able to talk on the phone. I guess this is particularly hard if they are not used to Mothers' Day from a Distance. 
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The truth is that there isn't necessarily that much we can do if we're not with our mums, but we can still ring and try to make a phone call just a little bit more special than usual. Perhaps even make a plan of how you will celebrate in person when this craziness is over. (In effect, reschedule Mothers' Day!) Here are some other ideas of how to still celebrate today despite the current mad circumstances:

• If it hasn't been possible to send flowers or take cards today because you are self-isolating, make them part of your next online order. Let your mum know that they will be on the way soon.
• Create an online collage of Mothers' Day photos of previous years on a googledoc or via facebook. Use whatever social media platform your mum is familiar with.
• Send your mother a poem or some lovely mothers' day quotes at different intervals during the day. If poems aren't really your thing then simply write an acrostic poem using their first name.
• Encourage your mum to take a short walk to keep her endorphins up. 
• If your mum is techy then play online games with her. 
• Don't just call once but call two or three times so that mums don't feel neglected. 
• Binge watch the same TV series and stay on the phone during the watching chatting. 
• If you haven't been allowed to go to the shops but do live relatively close by then drop off a hamper of favourite things. These can be recycled from your own house. They might include a crossword book, newspaper, jigsaw, favourite dessert, or reading book.
• Model positivity and be reassuring about the coronavirus situation.

It's Just a Day

I've got to be honest, my own mindset regarding Mother's Day is that it is nice to mark it, but it has a pretty low priority for me. It is, after all, just a day. However, with everything going on at the moment, it certainly doesn't hurt to celebrate when we can and let the people around us know they're appreciated.