It sounds like a terrible thing and I don't doubt that for a minute, I've heard of folks being sick and even dying from it which is just too sad to even try to wrap my brain around but without trying to sound disrespectful, as a little black dog, I'm not really hating some of its aspects.
I've always been taught to look for the silver-lining in problems... like for instance, we don't have friends come to visit anymore at our house, but we get to go see Grandma almost every day and I love playing with her. I especially love that she always pours me a bowl of filtered water when I get thirsty and my ball is always waiting in exactly the same spot. She never gets tired of throwing it for me and when I'm really, really good, she has a bag of treats stashed and I know right where they are.
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| My Grandma! |
Another benefit is that Mom has had a lot more time recently to spend with me. Sometimes we walk the lake, or the dike or head to the river and sometimes we take car rides to new destinations but the difference is, now we are never in a hurry! Even if it's just getting to spend more time napping on her lap, it makes me happy but... let me tell you about my very favorite new thing to do!
Up by the lake is this beautifully big building that Mom says is a high school named RA Long. Turns out Mom went there many, many years ago and so did her grandson Easten. In fact, I've met a lot of lovely folks over the years who also went to school there. In front of the school it just so happens they have not one but two humongously big yards with luscious green grass and really tall trees. Because of this virus thing, there aren't any kids going to school so it's become a very lonesome place. Mom and I decided to visit it and let me tell you, that place rocks! Because it's such a large area, Mom can throw the ball really far and I get to run just as fast as I can to fetch it. Just between you and me, Mom can't really throw worth a darn but with that green ball-throwing device, she looks like a superstar. And then there are the squirrels, tons of them and they are so much fun to play with. We pretend I'm chasing them, but I'm really not, it's just a game, and they run up and down the trees, teasing me, but not mean- like because remember, it's just a game. I tried my best to run up the trees after them but for some reason I just can't seem to get a grip on the bark like they can.
There are also these really cool flowers that Mom says are called dandy-lions. She told me all about how they are healthy and helpful to the bees but the part I like is how you can nudge them and make them blow all over. I tried using my mouth but I just couldn't pucker my lips in the right way so I ended up just swatting them with my paw instead, same results and so cool.
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| Success! |
I also have my very own private gardner that comes every so often and lets his very noisy horse-like monster eat the grass and make it short again. Sometimes he kind of vacuums up all the leftovers that the monster leaves but sometimes he doesn't and that leads to one thing I'm not really crazy about... hairy balls. Yup, my ball gets little grass hairs all over it and when I bring it back to Mom, it tickles my tongue something fierce. Still trying to find the silver lining in that little problem.
So, I'm hoping this virus thing isn't getting you down, that you've been able to find some silver-linings too and that when this is all over and I've gone back to day-care, and you've all returned to your lives, you'll be able to look back over these past few months and realize that there were some good times too. And... if this Corona continues much longer, my hope is that I too will be an RA Long graduate. :o)
Love & Licks, Stella
