Happy Mother’s Day? Here’s how these Kansas City area moms find joy, despite COVID-19

This is a Mother’s Day like no other.

Extended families yearning to hug and kiss loved ones are keeping their distance, planning virtual celebrations and phone calls for fear of spreading the coronavirus if they gather in person.

At the same time, mothers of younger kids, after weeks of balancing Zoom meetings and parenting, are still appreciating the extra time together.

We talked to seven Kansas City area moms — a nurse, a grocery cashier, a Hallmark manager, a teacher, twin students and the Kansas City fire chief — about life in the age of COVID-19 and how they’ll be celebrating this Mother’s Day.

The fire chief

Donna Maize is best known as the chief of the Kansas City Fire Department, but she’s also the mother of three.

“It’s going to be a strange Mother’s Day,” said Maize, whose daughters, Kylie, 22, and Erica, 23, live in Blue Springs and Holden, Missouri, but whose 11-year-old son, Evan, is very much at home.

Maize, 49, said she regrets missing out on helping Kylie plan her wedding in person and prepare for the birth of her first child.

At the same time, Maize said, “I haven’t seen my own mom in six weeks now. I talk to her on the phone.”

Maize’s mother, Sharon Lake, lives in town, but with social distancing, Maize won’t see her or her own daughters in person this Mother’s Day. They may try for a virtual visit.

Maize’s parents are her role models. She joined the fire department in 1992, where her father, Curt Lake, was also a firefighter, and the two fought several blazes together.

And her mother?

“She’s the one that gave me the strength that I have,” Maize said. “She’s always been the rock of our entire family.”

The Hallmark manager

There’s a bit of a bright side to the COVID-19 shutdown, says Pamela de la Fuente, editorial director of Flagship Greetings at Hallmark Cards Inc.

“The biggest impact the coronavirus has had on me, is that it’s giving me some time to slow down,” said de la Fuente, 39, who lives with her husband and two kids — Tommy, 5, and Maria, 2 — in Prairie Village.

“I don’t have the pressure of the commute and getting ready and all the stress. Sometimes after work, I’d be so stressed out and my husband would be working late. I’d be at home with both kids and I’d just cry.

“Now, honestly, all the moms are in the same boat. We’re all just trying to survive, and at least now, I’m just doing it in leggings.”

For Mother’s Day, she said, “I’m hoping for sunshine and no fighting, a nice meal and some good hugs from my kids. This is really a fun age for both of them, and I’m having a lot of fun watching them grow up and play together.”

The teacher

Stephanie Wixon didn’t expect to be spending so much time with her some, William, who turns 2 at the end of June.

“I’m really grateful for the time to be at home with him,” said Wixon, 35, who teaches Spanish at Shawnee Mission North High School and lives in Lenexa. “There’s easy days and hard days trying to balance everything. He doesn’t understand the concept that Mommy and Daddy need to do a Zoom meeting.”

She’s handling it all with plenty of support, she says.

“I think what I really value about this time, even though we’ve been distant … mom-communities, my friends that are moms, even my friends that aren’t moms, have been really supportive, sending encouraging messages. There’s a sense of community and support, and it’s OK to be doing your best. It’s not going to be perfect every day, but mom life isn’t perfect, it’s just loving your family.”

Wixon plans to spend Mother’s Day with her husband and son, perhaps eating a meal outdoors. She will miss spending time with her own mother, a pediatric nurse, who is tending to sick children.

A normal Mother’s Day would be spent with her extended family, but Wixon said she’s loving her time with her immediate family.

The grocery cashier

Customers and co-workers call Jeanae Williams “New Orleans.”

That’s because it was only last October when the single mother, 27, moved from that city with her kids Tayshon, 1, Jamikah, 8, and Myron, 11.

In January, she began work as a cashier at Snyder’s Supermarket, 2620 Independence Ave. As an essential worker, she is working 40 or more hours a week.

“It’s scary and I gotta go home to kids, so I try to be as safe as possible,” said Williams. “I wipe everything down with bleach water, ‘cause I don’t like Lysol.”

She said she comes from a very strong family: “I’d rate them 1,000,” she said.

For Mother’s Day, she will spend time with her mother, also an essential worker, and her children.

“We stay together, so we can be safe together. Separation is a no-go,” Wiilliams said. “I’ll probably get seafood and think of New Orleans.”

The twin college students

Anna and Caroline Williams are the type of twins who do everything together.

The 22-year-olds are both set to graduate from Rockhurst University with degrees in business analytics. Both have jobs lined up at YRC Worldwide. They share a four-bedroom house near campus in Kansas City.

And both have babies. Anna has 8-month-old son Charlie Williams. Caroline has 3-month old daughter Marlo Wright.

“It can be kind of crazy, but it’s fun,” Anna said of their living arrangement.

She says she was just getting back into the swing of things when the coronavirus hit and shut everything down. Classes have been online since March, but because of her pregnancy, she took two classes online last semester, too.

“With coronavirus it’s kind of a downer, but also a blessing in disguise, as I’ve been able to take more time at home with my infant,” she said.

Said Caroline, “I kind of see, not necessarily the virus, but the stay-at-home order as a blessing in disguise because I have a 3-month old and I’ve really got to spend extra time with her at home.”

They’re excited to celebrate the holiday together.

“Mother’s Day, I think it means more this year because it’s like a double success,” Caroline said. “I’m graduating and I’m a first-time mom and I’m doing both at the same time so I feel grateful. It’s a great sense of accomplishment.”

They’ll start their jobs at YRC on May 18. Their graduation ceremony has been rescheduled for September.

The nurse

Theresa Jo Lady — call her Terry — works with young cancer patients as a registered nurse at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

And now, so does her daughter.

Alexandra Breann Lady, 23, graduated last year from the University of Missouri and is also a registered nurse in the hospital’s hematology oncology unit.

“She shares the same passion for the career that I’ve chosen,” said Terry, “and that’s pretty special and makes me proud.”

Alex, who lives in Kansas City, followed in her mom’s footsteps because, for her future family, she wanted the kind of life her mother has had.

“We watched my mom come home with a big smile on her face every single day,“ Alex said. “Her job working with kids with cancer is super rewarding.”

And the job gave her flexibility so she “never missed anything when I was growing up.”

Terry, 55, a mother of three, lost her own mom a couple of years ago.

“Mother’s Day will be a more intimate gathering this year,” she said. The family, which includes husband Roger and sons Zane, 19, and Chaz, 26, will probably spend time together outdoors near the lake where they live in Lee’s Summit. “I’m fortunate to have three children that I adore.”

And they adore her.

“She’s not just a hero this year during the coronavirus pandemic,” Alex said. “My mom has been my hero my entire life.”

This story was originally published May 10, 2020 at 5:00 AM.