On the second Sunday in May, students normally gather with their families to celebrate Mother’s Day. But many spent the holiday away from their loved ones, filled with calls home and plans for delayed celebrations.
While some students celebrated with their families in Ithaca on Sunday, travel restrictions and the delayed spring semester schedule meant many students were unable to celebrate in-person with their families.
This year marked the first Mother’s Day away from home for Kyra Kozin ’23. As a sophomore, she celebrated at home in Massachusetts with family last year, settling back in with her family after the campus shutdown. Since she is in Ithaca this year and one of her brother’s is away at boarding school, Kozin said they celebrated virtually instead.
“My dad had to go buy flowers from [all of] us,” Kozin said. “Then we had a group FaceTime with my mom and my two grandmothers.”
Kozin said she typically gathers with her immediate family and grandparents for Mother’s Day brunch. While this year’s celebration was limited, she said the holiday still allowed her to connect with family within her busy schedule.
“I’ve been so busy with work and everything I haven’t really talked, especially to my grandmothers, in a while, so it was nice to catch up,” Kozin said.
Jacob Tamor ’24, who is from California, normally buys his mother chocolates and goes to brunch with his family. But this year, being thousands of miles apart meant meeting briefly over video.
“It was sad that I could only talk to her over FaceTime for a few minutes because of the time difference and our schedules conflicting,” Tamor said.
Benjamin Luckow ’24 originally planned for his parents to drive up to Ithaca from their home in Long Island. But they canceled the visit — his mother’s vaccine appointment was scheduled for Mother’s Day itself.
“It was pretty upsetting, not being able to see your parents, and I’m sure many people shared that experience,” Luckow said.
Luckow said he typically celebrates the holiday with a family dinner. Since his parents had to cancel their visit, his family is planning a delayed celebration once he moves home for the summer, reuniting with his parents for the first time since winter.