Protect the Abuelas at All Costs
Losing them to Covid-19, whether from the virus or its side effects, means losing everything
In the spring of 2020, the abuelas went away.
Millions of abuelas, here in the United States and around the world, disappeared into quarantine and out of many of our lives, physically at least. We stay in touch with FaceTime and phone calls, but lost Easter, birthdays, and backyard barbecue Sundays to the Covid-19 pandemic. We wave sad hands through spotty double-paned windows. Most tragically, many had to say goodbye forever without even being allowed in the same room.
I haven’t seen my grandmother, who is well into her eighties, since New Year’s Day. She lives in the small South Texas town of my birthplace; since March, I’ve dreaded getting a call informing me that she’s sick, that it’s moving quickly, that the virus got hold of her. Like all grandchildren waiting things out, I’ve felt helpless.
My mother lives only 25 minutes from me and her nietos. It’s much closer, but for months, that didn’t matter. My parents have had health scares and immunocompromising ailments for years — they are not the types to take chances. They hard-quarantined right before my mom’s birthday in March; no party, no visits, just deeply planned-out monthly grocery runs and…
