From an interview promoting her new children’s book, Justice Sonia Sotomayor reflects on how she was able to use the flexibility of the Supreme Court working remotely in the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021 to spend time in Florida with her ailing, elderly mother:
Q: Is there a particular person, place, or thing that has helped you get through this pandemic?
A: Yes, but it’s for reasons that some people might not find happy. The fall of 2020, my mother took ill, and I spent most of that next seven months with her in Florida. She passed away this past summer. It was heartbreaking for me. You may know from my writings how important my mother was and is to me but the fact that I could be there for her because we were working virtually, was a personal gift to me. It gave me personal time with my mother that I might not have been able to otherwise give her since I’m on the go all the time. I spent some really quality time with her. In that regard, I got through the pandemic in a way that I really wish I hadn’t had to — but the natural sequence of life, that at some point, I would lose my mom — I’m just glad that, I could spend time with her.
Of course, not everyone was so fortunate. Many elderly and sick Americans spent those months in states where it was not possible to have family visit them.