NEW PALESTINE — For Marcella Smith and her family, last Mother’s Day was a far cry from what they were used to.
With the world in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no going to church together and then out to eat at MCL afterward.
“That was completely different than the year before,” the 97-year-old great-great-grandmother said.
Not only did she have to forgo getting together with her family, but safety precautions at the senior living facility at which she resides prevented her from getting very close to her loved ones at all. Her daughter, Judy Armentrout, recalled it was a time when she and members of the family had to stand outside and speak to Smith on her balcony.
“We hollered at each other,” Armentrout said.
Now that pandemic restrictions have eased and COVID-19 vaccines are widely available, it’s looking like their and many others’ family traditions will be able to return on Sunday for this Mother’s Day.
“We didn’t do much of anything last year,” Armentrout said, sitting next to her mother in her room at Woodland Terrace of New Palestine. “I’m sure we’ll be back at MCL this year, though.”
Armentrout remembers the abrupt stop the pandemic put on her and other family members’ visits to Smith last spring. Until further notice, there’d be no more getting together for card games or taking her out for errands and shopping.
“All of a sudden we couldn’t do anything,” Armentrout said. “It was just awful.”
Loved ones are vital for the mother and daughter, and that quality shows in the quilt Smith made of her family tree that hangs in her room listing her dozens of descendants. Her family has branched out so much that she’s had to start adding to the quilt’s back side.
“Family is important,” Armentrout said. “Getting together is important. We’ve all been just trying to work out ways to see her.”
In the beginning of the pandemic, those efforts were aided by a device Smith has that’s equipped with a camera to stream her and a monitor to display loved ones for virtual face-to-face chats.
But by Christmas, such adaptations just wouldn’t do. Smith left her senior living facility to see family, including five great-grandchildren she had yet to meet. She had to quarantine in her room for two weeks upon her return as a precaution in case she was exposed to the novel coronavirus, but it was worth it, she said.
As soon as Armentrout and her sister were vaccinated, they were able to come in to Woodland Terrace to see their mother in person.
“At Mom’s age, at 97, it’s just really worrisome not being able to see her and not being able to take her where she needs to go,” Armentrout said. “So as soon as they made that available, we got on the train so that we could come in. And it was like a miracle being able to get back in here to see her again and touch her. It was an absolute blessing.”
Smith and Armentrout are looking forward to getting together with loved ones again for Mother’s Day this weekend.
“If we have our way, we’ll be going to church and we’ll be going to MCL as a family,” Armentrout said. “That’s like a big deal for us all to put a bunch of tables together and just sit and visit as a family.”
Armentrout’s reflection on her mother ahead of the holiday brought up memories of her and her seven siblings being raised by firm and caring parents on Indianapolis’ east side. Smith and her late husband, Joseph T. Smith, brought their children to church every Sunday and made sure they stayed busy with chores, sports and extracurricular activities, Armentrout recalled.
“The rule was if you joined, you had to stay in for a year,” Armentrout said. “You couldn’t cry your way out or anything like that. Very strong parenting, very loving.”
Smith’s affinity for dedication likely stems from growing up in a house without electricity and an outhouse in the backyard along with living through the Great Depression and World War II, Armentrout said. She also attended a one-room schoolhouse with eight grades and five students in her class.
Those parts of her life weren’t hardships; they were all she, her family, friends and neighbors knew.
“We didn’t think of ourselves as being poor, because everybody else was the same as us,” Smith said. “But we always had plenty to eat because we had a farm, had cows, and eating was never a problem. But we didn’t have the extras people have now. We didn’t even have electricity. … I didn’t expect as much, raised like I was. I just see people complain about the least things, and to me it’s no big deal.”
That resilience came through in her parenting as well, Armentrout said.
“We honor everything that she has done for us,” Armentrout said. “We have so much respect for Mom. She’s been through it all and she’s never let us go. Never. She never walked away, even when it was frustrating.”
Smith is just as grateful for her family.
“I’ve been blessed,” she said, “I really have.”
