BEACHWOOD, Ohio — Ron Grossman has a new daily routine. Each morning, he puts on his mask, and visits Menorah Park senior living in Beachwood.
"I'm very grateful to be able to visit again," he said.
Grateful to be back, and grateful to be back visiting his wife of 66 years, Jane.
"Every day," he confirmed. "I don't miss a day"
Ron doesn't miss a single opportunity to take advantage of the days they can be together, because they both spent far too many apart.
"It's been a long year," he told us. "It's been discouraging. We didn't know if we'd see each other."
We first met Jane and Ron on Valentine's Day 2020. At the time, Jane said, the duo never got sick of each other.
"We dated 11 years before we got married," Jane said with a smile.
It was then that we got an insight into their friendship and 77-year-long relationship.
"Just know who’s in charge," Ron joked. "It’s easy."
But what hasn't been easy is being away from each other due to the pandemic. During the COVID-19 shutdowns, the couple were only able to speak over Zoom.
"I'm usually with him every day," Jane told us in February of this year. "I miss him. I'm lonely."
With Jane in assisted living and Ron living in a separate apartment, that was their reality for over a year.
"In March [of 2020], they told me to go home and I couldn't visit anymore," Rom said at the time. "It really is heartbreaking."
But after a difficult year apart, on March 22, 2021, Gov. DeWine lifted restrictions against visitors inside nursing homes, reuniting couples like Jane and Ron.
Today, the Grossmans say they have no fancy dinners or luxurious trips in the works. Just the simple satisfaction of being together that Zoom could never fill.
One couple, starting '21 strong, and showing how a lifetime together can withstand a year apart.