LOS ANGELES â Ruth Alcantara stepped closer to her grandmother. Then closer, and closer still.
She crossed into the six-foot buffer zone that had separated them for so long and wrapped her arms around the older woman. Hola, abuelita, le extrañe mucho, she said, inches from her grandmother s ear. Hi, grandma, I missed you so much.
She felt a kiss on her forehead. Her throat constricted with emotion.
As more Americans are vaccinated against COVID-19, reunions among loved ones are becoming increasingly frequent and, for many, hugging is the main event.
First routine, then forbidden and now precious, hugs have come to symbolize the next phase of the pandemic, our emergence from the isolation of the past year. Simply put: Hugs can t be given from six feet away.
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Fighting back with hugs
By Soumya Karlamangla - Los Angeles Times
Jessica Holzer, 35, of West Hollywood, hugs friend Madeline Brozen, 35, of Los Angeles, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, at Plummer Park on April 11 in Los Angeles, CA. Brandon Carpenter, sitting left, is Holzer’s fiance. People are looking forward to hugging family and friends once they have their COVID-19 vaccine.
LOS ANGELES – Ruth Alcantara stepped closer to her grandmother. Then closer, and closer still.
She crossed into the six-foot buffer zone that had separated them for so long and wrapped her arms around the older woman.
“Hola, abuelita, le extrañe mucho,” she said, inches from her grandmother’s ear. Hi, grandma, I missed you so much.
Ruth Alcantara stepped closer to her grandmother. Then closer, and closer still.
She crossed into the six-foot buffer zone that had separated them for so long and wrapped her arms around the older woman.
“Hola, abuelita, le extrañe mucho,” she said, inches from her grandmother’s ear.
Hi, grandma, I missed you so much.
She felt a kiss on her forehead. Her throat constricted with emotion.
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As more Americans are vaccinated against COVID-19, reunions among loved ones are becoming increasingly frequent and, for many, hugging is the main event.
First routine, then forbidden and now precious, hugs have come to symbolize the next phase of the pandemic, our emergence from the isolation of the past year. Simply put: Hugs can’t be given from six feet away.