2020 Easter Without Grandkids

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Pic: Nonqaba waka Msimang
Grandparents in Canada and the United States are facing an Easter weekend without grand children because of COVID-19. In other continents, they all live in the same compound.

It is the tradition in some Canadian and American families, to invite grandparents for Easter or take them out for a day, to give them a break from the routine of living in an old age home. Grand children look forward to it, grandparents even more.

News reports of seniors testing positive for COVID-19 and deaths in some old age homes will lead to parents’ reluctance to inviting their own parents for Easter. COVID-19 is confusing for most people, despite all the information out there. Is it a flu? Is it not? When and how does it graduate to COVID-19?

It is even worse for older people who are identified as most vulnerable. They don’t understand how they have COVID-19. They are not young obviously. They haven’t been on an airplane in years, let alone a cruise. They hardly go anywhere, even within their cities.

What is social distancing? They have been living alone or just the two of them for years. They are not 100% healthy so doctors give them medication for their ailments, which they take religiously. That is why they don’t understand how COVID-19 now overtakes those ailments.

Not all retired people are in old age homes. Millions still live in spaces where they raised their children. They go to the gym, do tai chi, play golf,  volunteer in local and federal elections, work part time in their old jobs and have active hobbies.

They are the fortunate ones who will miss grand children if they don’t see them this Easter long weekend, but it will not cause trauma because they have full lives. The unfortunate ones are those in old age facilities who live for the hours they spend with grand children.

Avoiding human contact seems to be the primary strategy for containing the elusive virus. It is that very contact that keeps most elderly people alive, as they hug warm bodies of their grand children. Not seeing them, might cause them to slide downhill, both physically and mentally. Some fear that more than COVID-19.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.

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