Dealing with Lockdown; 3,785 MILES APART

COVID-19’s impacted our lives in unprecedented ways. Holiday plans used to be quite straightforward; pick a destination, book your holidays at work, buy plane tickets, reserve accommodation and off you go. But with this global pandemic, everything’s changed.

I come from Pakistan and all of my siblings, extended family and even my wife and baby girl – who’s 10 months old now, still reside there. I cherish every opportunity to book a few weeks off and go spend time with them. Before Coronavirus, this was as easy as you like. There were never any shortages of airlines to fly with or any ambiguity over the holiday plans.

I planned to spend the last week of July and Eid with my family. After 2 last minute cancellations from the airline, I was finally able to get to Pakistan on the last day of Eid. It was a surreal experience with face masks, face shields and constant temperature checks, but I was pleasantly surprised by how everyone was abiding by the social distancing rules.

My family were apprehensive of me travelling, but I was too excited to see my daughter as she’d barely started to crawl, and now I see her growing up a little more each day. Being away from family during the isolation period was one of the most difficult experiences of my life.

All the doubts, the heartache of being isolated from family and friends during this turbulent time, seemed like a distant memory as soon I laid my eyes on the little lady. She’s more than I could actually ever ask for. She even got her first tooth while I was in Pakistan, and I apparently spoilt her, which I’m contesting even to this day! After so many uncertainties, this was an ideal opportunity to spend time with family and make some long lasting memories.

To quote Ferris Bueller: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”