KITCHENER -- Forget phone calls or flowers, a large family in Guelph decided to do things a little differently this year for Mother's Day.
The Mcgarr family arranged for a special drive-by surprise for the 92-year-old family matriarch on Sunday.
“I am the luckiest women in this world,” says Jean Mcgarr.
Jean Mcgarr is a mother of 13 and also has 25 grandchildren and 28 great grandchildren, many of who travelled near and far to share their Mother’s Day love with her from a distance.
“She kind of went, what the heck is going on, so I said grab your coat and let’s go. She was very shocked and she was very happy and quite surprised so she loved it. She loved it,” says Bonnie Mcgarr, Jean’s daughter.
Some relatives driving from as far as Orangeville so Mcgarr could spend the occasion with family.
As a fiercely independent senior, Mcgarr typically hosts all the holiday family events, sometimes with nearly 100 guests.
“I am still ruling the roost, I am not gonna give up that job for nothing,” says Mcgarr.
“Normally, there's a bunch of people over for Mother’s Day and other households but this year it just wasn’t possible,” explains Bonnie.
So, the Mcgarr family brought the party to Jean this year.
“It's been hard for her, for all seniors I would imagine,” says Bonnie.
“They've gone through winter confinement and just as things were kind of picking up, this happened to them so their emotions are a little frayed and they're a little bit more sad probably than normal but this certainly was a boost for her and she loved it. I loved it.”
Even though physical distancing has been difficult for Mcgarr, she says we can get through it if we all do our part.
“Do what you’re supposed to do. Think of other people and not just yourself. We'll get through this mess. Maybe a little bit looney but we'll get through it,” she advises.
