With much of the world in lockdown, staying connected with our loved ones has never been more important. Whether we’re checking in with a call, keeping ourselves entertained by taking part in online pub quizzes, or updating the family WhatsApp with our latest baking attempts, we have a burning desire to keep in touch. Our home broadband has gone from “nice to have” to the lifeline between us and the outside world.
For some mums and dads who find themselves self-isolating away from their young children, this lifeline is critical. Here, three parents describe how they are managing to stay connected with their families from afar …
Rosie: ‘I haven’t seen my son in four weeks’
“Dropping my son off with his father without knowing when I’m going to see him again was the most impossible thing I’ve ever had to do. And that feeling hasn’t lessened over all these weeks of self-isolation. My son is only three years old; he’s so young. I feel ready to run out of here and scoop him up at any moment – to hell with it all.
“I have to remind myself constantly why I have to take self-isolation so seriously. I’ve got bad asthma. So when my doctor advised that I stay indoors for 12 weeks, I decided it would be best for my son if he was with his dad, who has lots of outdoor space. We broke up in October, so I was only just getting used to the separation. And now this.
“It’s been four weeks already, which is the longest I’ve ever been away from my son. FaceTime is essential, but it can be incredibly painful as well – I have to be positive because naturally I just want to burst into tears. I call him on my laptop as it has a bigger screen and his face is the normal size. At the end of the conversation he’ll hug the phone he’s using.
“He recently showed me that he can now put his own socks on and told me that he’s being ‘independent’. He’s learned quite a few new words – I’m really proud of him. He’s also been collecting sticks and stones as presents for me when we’re reunited.
“We talk at breakfast and dinner – it’s like how we used to sit around the family table, and he finds it entertaining to try to feed me bits of his food through the camera.
“We’ve also had some family group calls – we had a lovely one with my sister and her son, my ex-husband and my son, and my dad and my stepmum. My son was playing the keyboard, and his cousin, who has just turned two, was dancing. It was so good!”
Leo: ‘I had to isolate away from my daughter when I became ill’
“When I started to feel ill a few weeks ago, with what I assume was coronavirus, my 12-year-old daughter was with her mum so it was easy for me to self-isolate.
“As the illness took hold, I could do nothing but be in my bed. One bright part of the day, though, was FaceTiming my daughter, which isn’t something we did much previously. My ex and I share equal custody, so I’m used to seeing her every few days.
“We’ve WhatsApped each other a lot, too. That way I got to check she was OK, what she was up to and, of course, my knowledge of emojis became fairly impressive.
“My symptoms are now subsiding, but we feel it’s best that she stays at her mum’s until I’m completely clear, so the video calls have been such a help. We don’t have to talk every day, but knowing I can see her lifts my spirits. The distinctive sound of the FaceTime ringtone, and then seeing her face and that she looks so well, and isn’t bored or scared, makes this all much easier for me.
“It has been very hard to be away from her; especially because we don’t know when this is going to end. Several years ago I went to Brazil to work for a few weeks, but this will be the longest I haven’t been with my daughter. I know she is OK, though, and I know that right now she is in the best place with her fantastic mum, and in a wonderful home.
“Loneliness, of course, comes into it, but weirdly with everyone in the same boat, you can sort of move away from thoughts of pure isolation. Knowing my daughter is only a video call away helps me so much.
“We chat about what we’re doing, laugh about how mad we’re going, and I can put her mind at rest about any questions she has right now. We give each other a kiss on the camera, but we can also just sit in relative silence. She is painting a lot and during one call when I was ill and quite weak, she just got on with that while I watched and relaxed. That was lovely.”
Mark: ‘We haven’t told my daughter I’m back in the UK yet’
“I travel a lot for work and had recently spent a month in New Zealand away from my family – but when it began to look like everything was shutting down I decided to catch a flight back to the UK so I wouldn’t be stranded.
“After discussing it with my wife, we decided that it would be best if I didn’t come straight back to the family home and – as a precaution – I would spend two weeks in isolation. I was very lucky that a good friend had moved in with his girlfriend during lockdown and he kindly offered me his flat to stay in.
“However, this meant telling my little girl, who is seven years old, that I was still away. Although she doesn’t totally understand everything about what is going on, she knows enough that she’s been scared of things she’s heard on the news and fearful of us getting ill. So my wife and I decided we didn’t want to worry her even more.
“Every day I FaceTime her as I normally would when I’m away, and it’s been a real lifeline for me to be able to see how she’s coping and reassure her that I’ll be home soon. We even watched a film together and her mum made her popcorn just like when we have family movie nights. Doing my best to pretend that everything is normal is the right thing for her, and it helps me cope with this awful situation too.
“It’s really difficult to be away from my wife and daughter, especially when this is the time you want to be close to the people you love most in the world. Hopefully one day, when this is all over, we’ll be able to laugh together about how Daddy was hiding in a flat around the corner when she thought I was calling from New Zealand.”
Vodafone #KeepingtheUKConnected
We know that now, more than ever, it is important for you to stay connected to your family.
That’s why every day, we at Vodafone are working hard to maintain our network. So even when we’re apart, nothing can stop us being together. Stay up to date with the latest information on what we’re doing to keep the UK connected. Find out more
