JEFFERSON TWP — The Gallaghers will be together this Mother's Day, and every day after that if they want.

Last year, Evelyn Gallagher, 90 — a resident of Concordia Haven Apartments for two and a half years — could only share the special day via Zoom or by telephone with her 40-plus children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and in-laws because of COVID-19.

This year, she just has to lean out her balcony and holler to make contact with her son and daughter-in-law, Rick and Becky Gallagher, who have just moved into the building two floors below her apartment.

Rick and Becky Gallagher, both 73, moved into the independent living home May 1 with their 7-year-old miniature poodle, Riley.

Evelyn Gallagher, for one, is glad for the company this Mother's Day.

“I haven't seen too much of anything this past year,” she said. “They had us under quarantine here, which was a good thing for us because it kept the virus out of here.”

But it also cut down on face time with the other members of her close family, she said.

Zoom calls had to be the extent of her Easter visits.

Serenading her

At Christmas, Evelyn Gallagher said, her daughter Joy's family came over and stood under her balcony, serenading her with Christmas carols.

This year, not only will she be able to share her special day with Rick and Becky, but the rest of her family will be able to visit her apartment with appropriate precautions.

Evelyn Gallagher said, “They'll be able to come over and wear their masks. We're a close family.

“You can see by my family picture there,” she said, gesturing to a photo taken on a pre-pandemic July Fourth that numbers 42 members.

Rick Gallagher didn't move to Concordia just to be closer to his mother, although his visits to her convinced him it was a pretty good deal.

“We saw how nice it was here,” Rick Gallagher said. “We needed to downsize. We had a two-story house, and it was just getting too much for us.

“I used to enjoy working in the yard, now I just can't keep up with it,” he said. He had his arm in a sling following a recent surgery that he had been putting off during the pandemic.

Their move is so recent that they're still unpacking boxes.

He's looking forward to spending more time with his mother after a year of what Evelyn Gallagher referred to as “streamlined” visits.

Fortunately, Becky Gallagher said, she's always gotten along with her mother-in-law.

Memorable day

This is shaping up to be a memorable Mother's Day, but not the most memorable one, Rick Gallagher said.

“That was the Mother's Day we celebrated when I came back from the service in 1968,” Gallagher said. “I spent a year in Vietnam,” he said, adding he was drafted into the Army right after he graduated from Knoch High School. “Back then, we didn't have cellphones to stay in touch.”

But this one might be coming in a close second, he said.

“No more Zoom calls, it just isn't the same as going in and getting a hug,” he said.

Whether all of the Gallaghers — including sister Joy DuBois of Cranberry Township and brother Thomas, who lives along Great Belt Road — will all be under one roof again like they were in the family home on Mushrush Road, only time will tell. They're both too young to be eligible to move into Concordia.