“The Pond,” the big wide Atlantic Ocean, now seems bigger and wider than ever, snormanculp writes from London in today’s AP Virus Diary.
In this May 22, 2020, photo, a window is cracked open in Associated Press journalist Sheila Norman-Culp home in Belsize Park, a neighborhood in north London. For those with family on one side and work obligations on the other, the Atlantic Ocean is becoming an enormous barrier once again in the coronavirus era.
This realization has taken months. In January, I was focused on Britain’s departure from the European Union. In February, as Italy discovered its coronavirus outbreak, I was on a Caribbean family vacation. I did not know those would be the last family hugs for the indefinite future. Work-wise, it’s been all COVID-19, all the time, so I know how lucky I am. My mother has not died alone and untested in an Italian nursing home. No grandchildren have hospitalized for a mystery inflammatory disease. I did not lose my job overnight as lockdowns threw millions out of work. I can work from home, even if my husband grumbles about it.We could not help my stepdaughter in Chicago as her husband came down with COVID-19 just as our 5-month-old granddaughter stopped sleeping at night.
I did not go to my first college reunion in 20 years or host a birthday party for Mom. We did not babysit in Chicago to give the new parents an anniversary trip. We did not take Amtrak across the country to visit Glacier National Park or host a rehearsal dinner for my stepson’s wedding in Montana. The wedding was canceled. Last weekend we received a Facebook notification that he was married.Now I stare out the window as my British neighbors chat, 8 feet apart, with relatives outside.
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