With older adults at higher risk for coronavirus complications, legions of grandparents across the country are dealing with being unable to see their grandkids -- staying apart, however, does not have to mean staying unconnected.
March 30, 2020 -- When Polly Connell found out her grandchildren's Boston schools were closing over concern about the growing number of COVID-19 cases, her reaction was instant and well, grandmotherly.
As the ''social distancing'' messages grew along with case numbers, and public health experts cautioned that older adults and those with underlying health conditions are especially vulnerable, Connell, 71, got it."I'm not going to anyone's house," she says. She and her husband, John, know that trips to see any of their four grandchildren are out of the question right now.
It's not the same as in-person bedtime stories, she says, ''but it fills a void. It's frustrating because, those little ones, you want to hold them."Once the pandemic hit, Erika Whitemore of Half Moon Bay, CA, and her husband, Dan, along with their two daughters, Lilli and Elena, also decided they would resort to FaceTime with her parents, who are in their 60s and live just 7 miles away.
Now, the rituals have changed. The teen grandson sends his completed Spanish homework on instant message, ''and then we talk on the phone" to review it, Lee says."My dad was a diplomat, and so I grew up speaking Spanish."
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