When something exciting happens, the first thing we want to do is tell our loved ones.

Carly Boyd is 21 years old and is studying to become a nurse. She’s very close to her family, especially her grandfather Shelton Mahala. So when her boyfriend Trevor Sellers popped the question over the weekend, she couldn’t wait to share the good news with her granddad!

Via Facebook

The only problem is that at 87 years old, Shelton is currently in quarantine due to novel coronavirus concerns. He lives at Premier Living & Rehab Center in Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina, where staff members have issued a no visitation rule to keep their residents safe.

When Carly arrived to drop off some clean laundry for her granddad, administrator Gennie Parnell had to tell her she couldn’t see him face-to-face.

“The activities director was talking to her and I heard her say something like ‘congratulations,’ and I realized she had gotten engaged over the weekend,” Gennie said. “We were standing there talking and she kept glancing over that way where his room is, and as they were getting ready to leave, it hit me.

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“I said, ‘Would you like to go to the window to say hey?’ And she said, ‘Can I?’ I said, ‘Sure!’”

Shelton was in bed eating ice cream when someone came in to tell him Carly had a surprise for him. They opened his blinds, and there she stood, pointing at her ring finger!

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As if the first photo they captured wasn’t sweet enough, just wait until you see the next one! Shelton got up to give the ring a closer look, and the two of them gazed at each other through the glass with pure love.

Then the doting granddad put his hand against Carly’s, separated only by the thin windowpane. We can tell Carly is holding back tears at the gesture, and we’re right there with her!

“We all just fell apart,” Gennie said later.

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“So glad I was allowed to see my grandfather. Even under the circumstances of this virus I was still able to tell him I am engaged!” Carly wrote on Facebook. “Thank you, Premier Living staff!”

What a beautiful way to show her grandpa she’s thinking of him! We all need to find creative methods to stay close to our loved ones in this uncertain season. Clearly it’s worth the challenge!

Share this sweet story to spread joy.