We meet again... families are reunited at last
IT had been three months since they shared more than a video chat or a wave from the bottom of the garden.
But yesterday many children, parents and grandchildren across Scotland were reunited and able to enjoy a simple hug for the first time since stay at home advice was introduced.
More than a million people living alone and single parents with young children can now meet and stay overnight with an ‘extended household’ as part of phase two of the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown.
For support worker Amy-Louise Rooney, 29, and her five-year-old son Logan, it meant a joyful reunion with her 51-year-old father, Sean.
Miss Rooney, who works at Ullapool High School, in Ross-shire, said she felt overjoyed at being able to meet in the living room of her home.
She added: ‘Twelve weeks without real family contact, like being able to hug or sit together inside our homes, has been very hard.
‘I have missed my dad a lot, and the rest of my family, too. Logan just loves his granddad and was so excited all day to see him and play with him again like normal. We take these things for granted when we have them, but I don’t think anyone will any more.’
Mr Rooney, an assistant shop manager in Lochinver, Sutherland, said: ‘It was actually very emotional for me. Logan has gone from being a toddler to being a little boy who can suddenly string sentences together and interact with people in a more grown-up way.
‘I feel like I have missed out on a big chunk of his life.’
Also enjoying the change was Nora Watson, 87, who has been isolating for the past 1 weeks. She was finally able to share a pot of tea with her daughter Audrey Cherry, 6 , inside her house in Carnoustie, Angus.