7 Things My Dog Taught Me During the Quarantine of 2020

Several months ago, my son, Allen, casually said, “Mom, have you ever experienced anything like this before?” He was referring to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the country and world.  My answer was, “Um, no.”

I’ve never lived through a quarantine or a pandemic. But neither has anyone else I know. There have been outbreaks in fairly recent years of cholera and yellow fever, Ebola and measles. But those have been in isolated areas and I only heard about them through the news or prayer requests of friends who are particularly well-informed.

Our present situation just hasn’t happened before in my lifetime. Schools closed, businesses shut down, travel limited. How are we supposed to cope with this craziness? Living in the midst of a pandemic has been hard. No one is immune to the uncertainty and the changes and the isolation. 

While trying to protect myself and my family by staying home as much as possible, I also realized I have a choice about how I spend this time. I like to learn stuff from what I’m going through. I like to look for the meaning and the reason. I want to have something to carry home in my pocket or show off after the fact. I want things to be tied up with a tidy bow. But, this pandemic, this quarantine, seems so crazy, it’s hard to make sense of anything at the moment.

So, I’m looking in some tried and true places for wisdom and inspiration: the joy of work, the art of making a house a home, and my dog. 

Molly is 65 lbs. of puppy. She runs and plays until her legs literally give out from under her. And she loves her people. The opportunity to have her people at home all day, all to herself, has been the delight of Molly’s life. She’s unaffected by the chaos and clutter in the world. So, I thought, maybe Molly can help me make sense of my world too.

Here are seven things Molly is teaching me during the quarantine of 2020. 

1. You Gotta Trust

Molly needs me for just about everything. Even though she knows where her food is and she can tell time (because she tells me every day when it’s 6 o’clock, or supper time) Molly can’t feed herself. She needs me to open the huge container, scoop out her food and put it in her dish. 

I’m trying to trust that God is going to take care of me and my family too. While I’m not going to go to Walmart and recklessly start licking grocery cart handles, I’m not going to disinfect all my packages when I get home either. I opt for a happy medium between caution and carefree.

I’m trying to trust that in this bizarre time of isolation and inconstancy God has a plan. I believe God has something for each of us to learn and we shouldn’t waste it watching too many episodes of Tiger King or The Big Bang Theory. Watch some of that stuff, by all means, just not too much.

2. Celebrate the stuff worth celebrating. It just may look different. 

Molly loves to celebrate. Just look at her here with this rockin’ hat on. Molly endured the hat because she wants to please us. We rewarded her with homemade peanut butter, turmeric treats. 

Like Molly, my mom had to celebrate a big birthday while separated from her family. It wasn’t a great day, but she chose to make the best of it with grace. Our family Zoom call seemed to make things a bit better. Back when things were “normal” we would have had dinner together and eaten cake and opened presents. But things aren’t even close to normal now. So, we had to make do.

3. If you get stir crazy, run around. Just don’t hurt anyone.

Molly sometimes gets what my son calls “the zoomies.” Apparently, that’s an actual phenomenon where dogs end up the night with a little too much energy. In order to get rid of it before bedtime, they start running, or zooming, around the house. Molly will run around our family room until her tongue is hanging out. Then, she’ll collapse in a heap next to the couch until someone decides to take her out for the last bathroom walk of the day. 

If you get stir crazy you can do something similar. Turn on music and dance, run around the block, or do push ups. Just make sure you don’t actually run into someone else. Molly does that sometimes. It hurts. 

Dancing makes me feel better, so I’m making sure to spend part of each day dancing around my family room. I get sweaty, jam out and laugh at my inability to do some pretty basic dance moves. Then I take a shower and wash it all away.

4. Taking a nap in the sun just makes good sense. 

        Molly needs her naps as any good dog does. She fights it sometimes, but when she lets herself rest, she’s a more pleasant dog to be around. We’re a lot alike in that way, Molly and me. And, if you can find a sunny spot to bask in the glow of the sunshine, all the better. Soak up that vitamin D so your doctor won’t prescribe vitamin D pills for you.

5. Savor the small stuff. 

While we’re all so isolated and schedules are weird and we can all be a bit afraid, we need to savor the small stuff. Molly will gently take a piece of ice or an occasional treat offered from my hand then run into the next room. She’ll find a hidden spot where she can throw herself down on the floor with her treasure. Then, she’ll savor and slurp each crumb or drop. You don’t have to hide with your treats. You can even share them; but take a minute to think about what you’re eating or drinking. Don’t just gulp it down. Savor.

6. You should always have something to play with

Molly loves toys. In fact, she loves every little bitty piece of her toys. She’s a very destructive chewer. I could present Molly with a toy lovingly selected and purchased for $10 or more.  Often she will return within minutes to show off what used to be part of that toy, but now most definitely isn’t. She enjoys her toys, whether whole or in parts, with such glee it’s hard to be upset with her. 

I bet you have something you love to do. Netflix should have nothing to do with it. Something you DO, not something you watch. Break out your complicated coloring book and color pencils or find your knitting needles and that unfinished scarf you started knitting several winters ago. Get to it. Enjoy the process of making and doing something. Play with it. Have fun. 

For Christmas, Bobby, my favorite husband, gave me an online painting class. It’s called “Paint Happy.” It’s taken me forever to make any progress on the happy flowers I’m painting, but I’m having so much fun with it. The teacher, my friend, Tricia, is so joyful. She laughs often and encourages you to “paint wonky.” There’s no risk, no pressure. Just painting and creating for the fun of it. What a joy!  If you want to paint happy too, try this.

7. Sometimes it’s hard to keep your distance

Molly has no sense of personal space, choosing to cling to a tiny corner of my footrest instead of finding her own spot on the floor. As far as she’s concerned, it’s all hers. Her space, your space, the in between space, all for Molly. When I get on the floor to do yoga, she grabs a toy and snuggles up next to me, never mind that I’m bent over in a banana shape and will soon need the space she’s in to straighten myself back up. 

        When I visit my mom, I walk in the door and give her a hug.  We try to turn our faces away from each other but it's hard. I’m a hugger and my kids are getting the full force of my hugginess. I’m sure they wish this virus would run its course for many reasons. One of them is undoubtedly giving mom another person or two to hug. They’re being sweet and enduring all the hugs admirably. However, I’m sure they want me to stop.

What have you learned during this time of coronavirus? We’re all struggling in some way. My husband was working in another state and living himself for the first few months of the pandemic shutdown. He’s an introvert, but this much alone time is even getting to him. He needs to at least see some other people, even if he doesn’t really want to have a party with them.

I saw a post on Reese Witherspoon’s Twitter yesterday. It makes a lot of sense. She says she asks herself some questions every day. These are the ones that stood out to me: 

• What am I grateful for today?

• Who have I checked in with or checked on today?

• What parts of “normal life” am I letting go of today?

I love that. We should be grateful and check in with someone daily, whether in this time of crisis or not. But what part of “normal life” have I tried to hold on to that I just need to let pass away? Makeup? Schedules? The time of day I prefer to go grocery shopping? What can I release and make myself happier in the process? 

Today I’m having to release hugging my mom. But that’s ok. I’ll go hug one of my kids instead. Or maybe I’ll go hug that sweet dog.

 

Everything is Going to be Okay

             If I asked you to help write a recipe for uncertainty, fear, or depression, what would it look like? Maybe, lock everyone up at home with their families? Spread a potentially life-threatening illness around the globe? Fill the news with contentious politics and acts of violence?

            Life today looks a lot like the results of that recipe. It’s no wonder so many of us are struggling with panic, frustration, and sorrow.

            It’s completely ok to be fearful. It’s what we do with that fear or what we do in the midst of that fear that matters.

            Do we watch incessant episodes of Gilmore Girls while eating Cheetos and cookie dough? (Asking for a friend.) Do we hide and waste the time we’ve been given? Or do we decide to rise?

            And, if we decide to rise, how do we do that? How do we rise above the chaos and the hand sanitizer and the nightly news? I know I can’t do it alone. I need something bigger than myself, something greater to pull me out of my worry and doubt. I need the Lord.

            So did a guy in the Bible named David. You’ve heard of him. He’s the guy who killed a lion and a bear while tending his flock of sheep. He stood up to the Philistine giant, Goliath. And he was a successful young captain in Israel’s army. Israel was constantly at war in those days, so David knew what it was to be scared and saddle up anyway, to loosely quote John Wayne. David would eventually rise to be King of the nation of Israel.

            David didn’t deny the presence of fear in his life, yet he knew what to do with it. He boldly trusted God despite his distress and dismay.

            In Psalm 56 verses 3 and 4 David said, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear, what can flesh do to me?” While you and I both know that “flesh” can do a lot of painful things, what David was saying here is the good God gives is much greater than anything another person might do to him.

            In this Psalm, David finds himself captured by some of his enemies and he is very alone. He fled from Saul who was king, who was his boss, his commander in chief, and went to Gath which is where Goliath was from. Goliath’s people hadn’t forgotten what David had done. David, much younger and much smaller, had humiliated the Philistines by destroying their champion with just a slingshot and a rock. The Philistines were still mad about that.

            What seemed to bother David the most about this situation wasn’t just being imprisoned, or solitary, or in danger, David was bothered most by the pressure, the unrelenting seriousness of his situation. In Psalm 56 verses 1 and 2 David says, “Be merciful to me, my God, for my enemies are in hot pursuit; all day long they press their attack. My adversaries pursue me all day long; in their pride many are attacking me.” Then, in verse 5 he says, “All day long they twist my words; all their schemes are for my ruin. (emphasis mine)”

            The incessant-ness of his situation was getting to David. Isn’t that what bothers us the most too? When you dread bedtime because your five-year-old is going to put up a fight. When you just want to be able to visit with your friends or work or go to the grocery store without a mask and hand sanitizer in your pocket. When you just can’t get away from the political arguments.

            But David knew God was with him. God loved him. God heard him and was sympathetic to David’s problem. In Psalm 56 verses 8-9 say, “You number my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle; are they not in Your book? When I cry to You, then my enemies will turn back; this I know, because God is for me.”

            So, what do we do with this? How can I apply this to my life today? How can I daily live out my trust in God? Here are just a few things I’m trying to do.

1.                          One of my resolutions for 2021 is to listen to the Gospels on my Bible app. I can do it while I’m in the car, cooking dinner or folding clothes. I love how the stories that are so familiar come alive when read one after the other.

2.                          Pray. When I pray, I’m trying not to recite my problems repeatedly. I share what’s on my heart, of course, then I thank God for the many blessings He’s placed in my life.

3.                        Journal. I try to journal most weekdays. I set my timer for 15 minutes, open my journal and write. It’s not always pretty or Godly or even legible. But it helps me get the thoughts out of my brain and on to paper. Amy Grant, the singer, calls it a brain dump.

            While you’re making use of one of these practices or something completely different, remember that you’re not alone. You’re never alone. Some of you are literally NEVER alone. You long for a day when you don’t have anyone clinging to your leg or pressed up against the door while you’re in the bathroom.

            God isn’t like that. He’s the company you want to have, the breath of fresh air that clears your lungs and your brain and revives you for the time ahead.

            One night when my twins were about three years old, I tucked them in to bed and heard the dreaded words, “Mom, don’t leave. I’m scared.” I tucked Allen in tighter and told him he didn’t have anything to worry about. Dad and I were right down the hall and besides, Jesus was right there in the room with him. He had no reason to be afraid.

            I told the boys to blow out the light, flipped the switch and closed the door most of the way. Then, I went about my nightly routine – wash the dishes, wash my face, pick out clothes for tomorrow. While walking past the boys’ bedroom, I paused outside the door to see if Allen had calmed down. He was completely quiet. Davis however was chanting over and over, “I’m Jesus! I’m Jesus!” He was the only other person in there and if I told Allen that Jesus was right in the room with him then…

            After laughing for a few minutes, I entered their room to start over. It went something like this, “Okay, Jesus is in here with y’all, but your brother is not him…”

 

“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.”

-John Wayne