Valonetine's Day

I've never been big on Valentine's Day, but this year, not being able to see my partner has gotten me down. Not today specifically – I knew it was unlikely that either of our lockdowns would be lifted by now – but how many days, weeks and months it will be before we are allowed to see each other again. Even when the lockdowns are lifted, we'll still have to justify visiting each other as "essential" because the border is closed from my side, and ironically, my country is the one currently allowing non-cohabiting couples to meet up without distancing, even during lockdown!

Being a student, I was fortunately allowed to return to home over the Christmas holidays. Confirming that my "home" for the holidays is now my boyfriend's flat rather than my familial home felt odd, but it was lovely to have the opportunity to be with him again after 2½ months apart. I returned to my university country on 4^th January, mere hours before the new lockdowns were announced. Initially, I was quite content to be in lockdown; it provided certainty and meant that we were both in the same boat despite living under different governments. Outwith a lockdown situation, we have to deal with the fact that it's illegal to cross the border without an essential reason. Visiting the other half of an extended household is permitted under my travel rules, but travelling over 300 miles to do so is definitely not in the spirit of lockdown, especially as people have been fined for making journeys of under 10 miles.

While the outlook is uncertain, I'm buoyed by the pace of vaccination in both countries. We've still been able to do something nice, ordering each other takeaways to mark the occasion, and I'm hopeful that I'll be allowed to visit again around Easter. For now, I should be thankful that we both have work to keep us occupied, good health, and we will be reunited at some point!