TORONTO -- An Ontario family has found a safe way to embrace their grandma during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guelph, Ont. residents Carolyn Ellis and her husband Andrew created the so-called "hug glove" by hanging a thick plastic sheet with sleeves from a clothesline so the family could hug Ellis' mother without coming into direct contact with her.
In a video posted to Facebook on May 10, the family can be seen taking turns using the device to hug Ellis' mom, Susan Watts. Ellis said it had been nearly two months since they last embraced.
"I was worried that it would be all weird because it's a really thick plastic, but it actually wasn’t. It felt like a genuine hug if you were wearing a jacket. It didn't feel like there was anything in the way," Ellis said in a telephone interview with CTVNews.ca.
The "hug glove" was made using Vapour Barrier plastic and industrial Tuck Tape, which Ellis said on Wednesday "worked really well" despite being typically used in home renovation projects.
Ellis said that she came up with the idea for the contraption a few weeks ago, after realizing how lonely her mother must be during the health crisis.
"My mom actually lives alone and it occurred to me that she hadn't had a hug in a long time and that she wouldn't get a hug in a while until this is all over," Ellis said.
Ellis said her mother was often at her house helping with their two young boys, but that changed when the pandemic began. She said her sons, aged 2 and 4, did not understand that it was not safe to hug their grandmother.
"They just weren't getting it, especially the youngest. [My mom] said that they would look at her like they’re thinking that grandma doesn't love them. She was so upset by that," Ellis said.
Ellis said they surprised her mother with the "hug glove" on Mother’s Day to lift her spirits.
"It really meant a lot to her. She was crying, but laughing because she thought it was hilarious the whole contraption," Ellis said. "We just couldn't stop hugging it just felt so good."
Ellis said she and her mother are "big time huggers" and not doing so amid the pandemic has been difficult for them.
"I didn't want to stop it just felt so good to hug her again," Ellis said. "This time has been so challenging for so many reasons, but this just felt like we were back to normal again."
Full video of our Mother’s Day gift to my Mom...the “HUGlove” - hug glove! ��❤️ We all got to hug her today. I was so thrilled to hug my Mom after all these weeks...best Mother’s Day ever!!!
Posted by Carolyn Watts Ellis on Sunday, May 10, 2020
