Missing mom in Montreal
May 8—PLATTSBURGH — Dr. Yamilee Jacques last saw her mother, Rosemarie, in June of 2020.
Her parents and her brother's family live in Montreal, her sister's family is in Toronto, and her cousin's family is in Ottawa.
"It's been difficult definitely," Jacques, a physician at Plattsburgh Family Health, said.
MISSING OUT
"It's very isolating for us not being able to actually, we can do Zoom, but not being able to get together with our family; it's been sad.
"You miss out on seeing my nieces and nephews and cousins growing up because you can't get that time back. My sister, my brother, and my cousin are missing out on my kids, and the cousins can't see each other and spend that time."
One of the reasons her and her husband, Louis, chose to live here was the close proximity to her kin and their children.
"So that they can grow up together and have that strong bond," she said.
"It's literally been hard for them not able to spend the quality time they usually do with their cousins."
BORDER CLOSED
The mother of two boys and a little girl usually spends Mother's Day with parents, siblings and in-laws here or in Montreal.
"That's the great thing about being in Plattsburgh, we can see each other for the day and then go back," she said.
"That's usually a lot of times what they would do."
Her mother, Rosemarie, initially came down in February 2020 to help out with her newborn granddaughter for a couple of weeks.
"Then she went back, then she came back," Jacques said.
"When she came back, she tried to stay a little bit longer. It actually shut down when she came back. I think about two weeks later is when the closed everything down. But we knew she would be able to get back to Canada because she's a citizen, so that wasn't going to be a problem.
"But she knew she wouldn't be able to come back anytime soon. So she stayed as long as she could. So, then she left in June."
THOSE EARLY DAYS
What is difficult for Rosemarie is missing out on those special moments with her grandchildren to whom she's quite close.
"My kids talk about her all the time," Jacques said.
"For her, that's the hardest part. She can't be with them and see and share in my daughter's first year, where they have all of these developmental milestones.
"She's been there for all the kids. It's been hard for her not to be able to share in those for her."
Mother's Day 2021 will be another Zoom/Facetime celebration like last year.
WHEN IT OPENS
When the U.S.-Canada border opens, Jacques and her family will head to see her parents and in-laws.
"The physical part is that the kids are not vaccinated," she said.
"In terms of large gatherings, we won't be able to do that just yet. Both my husband and I are vaccinated, and my parents are vaccinated."
Her parents may come to Plattsburgh, and there will be separate group visits to siblings' families.
"But I don't think we will all get together just yet, for the kids," Jacques said.
"I will also see when they will be able to get the vaccine, my siblings. It's going along pretty well.
"Right now, Canada's situation is a little more difficult because they have a lot of variants, and things are even more restricted over there.
"As much as I hope that we are at the end of the tunnel, that's just got a little bit discouraging."
Email Robin Caudell:
Twitter:@RobinCaudell
