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