Bill and Kathie Ward met their newborn granddaughter Willow on Monday, separated by two metres, a smelly ditch and an international border.
The Chilliwack, B.C. couple’s daughter, Jodi Pears, gave birth to her third child, Willow, 10 days ago. But Pears lives in Lynden, Wash., meaning that unlike when Willow’s siblings were born, her grandparents weren’t there to welcome her into the world. “It was really tough, we found out by text that the baby was born,” said Bill. “Because of the border closures we weren’t able to go down and see her, which was really sad,” added Kathie. “Not being able to hold your granddaughter is not nice, and her not being able to see us … everything was done online, on Facebook, and it’s not the same as being there