The coronavirus pandemic has affected people beyond the scope of what we thought possible. A simple thing like spending time together has been taken away from many considered ‘high-risk’.

Such is the story of Bob and Nancy Shellard from Vernon, Connecticut. The pair celebrates their 67th wedding anniversary this year. However, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, Bob was not allowed inside the nursing home Nancy is staying in. The governor of Connecticut had banned nursing home visits for 30 days for concern of the health of the elderly.

The couple have never spent their anniversary apart, and Bob was not about to allow this to be the first time. He decided to celebrate outside Nancy’s window at the nursing home by holding up a sign that read “I’ve loved you 67 years and still do. Happy Anniversary.”

In response, Nancy sent air kisses and waves from inside the nursing home.

“It makes me feel bad because I want her down with me and I know she can’t be,” Bob told NBC Connecticut.

Speaking to NBC Connecticut, the couple’s daughter Laura said, “They have always been an inspiration to us and I think just seeing every year go by that they still express it in some way on their anniversary.”

“It’s just been an example for us, for all of us of kids. So all four of us have really learned a lot from them and I can only hope that I have half as much as what they have shared over the years.”

Image: Screenshot / NBC Connecticut