It was mid March when Vietnam imposed the first national lockdown, determined to contain the spread of the unknown and life threatening virus namely, COVID-19. It was the first time for both my 13 years old son and I heard of the word, ‘lockdown’. I knew the word ‘curfew’ well because I am the mother of my two now adult children. But I am still too young or too fortunate in my grandparents’ eyes to experience any form of curfews. 

The doorbell rang at 9:30 this morning. A young man in his mid-twenty carrying two brown boxes. “Here’s your order, Madam,” he kept his distance. I said thank you before he rushed down the hallway. I knew from the look of his sweating face behind the mask that it is going be another long day ahead of him….

With the school closed in the past few months, our children have been spending most of their days at home attending online classes, meeting deadlines and preparing for assessments. It certainly keeps our children's minds active and provides some form of normality amid our current abnormal circumstance.

My heart goes out to all the grandchildren who have lost their grandparents due to the pandemic. For parents who are trying to come to terms with not only the pain of losing their own parents but also struggling to talk to their children about the death of their grandparents, I hope you will find comforts in Dr. Giorgio’s words below…