Post-Pandemic Life

I know it is still too early to think about a return to “normal life” but now that so many of us are fully vaccinated, glimmers of hope are appearing on the horizon.

Yesterday I went to campus for a grad student presentation that included five fully vaccinated humans, including me. It was the first time I have done anything official on campus in over a year.

I had to wear real shoes and real clothes. My socks had to match.

Check.

I needed all kinds of “stuff” gathered to take — and a Puppy Nanny. It is a lot of work to get all official, I must say.

For my efforts, I got a ticket — who buys a parking pass when there is a pandemic and we are working from home?! #rude

FIFTY DOLLARS?!

Although I was thrilled to see colleagues and students in person, I felt overwhelmed and tired when I got home — surprisingly so. That reaction reminded me that going back — whatever that looks like — is not going to be like flipping a light switch.

I suspect the challenge for many of us will be thoughtfully creating a post-pandemic life that merges what we have missed with what we have come to appreciate.

I am starting this process by considering those two things — what have I missed? What do I appreciate about life in the past year?

My hope is that the answers will allow me to create new ways of being that honors and makes meaning out of Pandemic Life.

Clark. Gone but not forgotten. A constant check on my perspective.

It cannot have been for naught. It just can’t.

The Training Hub

I really love what we have done with our living room — for all kinds of reasons.

Harper B for Be in Two Places

Some people have a gift for making spaces beautiful — Suzanne has that. Her house is so lovely! I admire that ability but it is not one of my strengths or maybe it is, but I have not spent the time to nurture it. I imagine all of us have many talents, hidden by the realities of time and priorities.

Pozy

My priority is to thrive over the Pandemic Winter.

Harper and Rosebud

I spent some time thinking about what would support that goal, reflecting on what has helped in the past when things were tough. There is no need to re-invent the wheel — if we know what helped, we should trot those strategies on out!

Pozy with a felted wool ball — they are excellent for retrieving.

I have a love affair with cycling.

Enter the Peloton bike.

I worry about the amount of sitting that happens when we are working from home in a pandemic.

Solution: Cheap Craig’s List treadmill turned DIY treadmill desk.

It helps me to be working steadily towards established Hopes and Wishes (aka goals), and so I set some for my dogs and created a training space to support progress through the Pandemic Winter.

Claire’s SuperPower seems to be obedience.

Claire

I am hopeful that someday I will get to show her again and finish her CD. And when I do, Claire will be ready to march right into Open and then Utility. That is my Winter Want for Claire: All three obedience titles in 2021.

The space that was the living room is now the Training Hub — for me and the dogs (yes, Dear Husband has many saintly qualities and tolerance is one of them). It supports not only training but also Hopes and Wishes, and related — health, broadly defined.

Sparkle and Claire

The space inspires me to keep marching towards the end of this long, dark Pandemic Winter.

What inspires you?

Home with Mats

We are home!

Two well-timed breedings for Daisy with a delightful boy. I love him — a wonderful match for Daisy. Everything crossed.

I do not reveal stud dogs until I have a confirmed pregnancy but suffice it to say that I am really excited about both potential litters. REALLY excited. And I am grateful to the stud dog owners who were willing to work together to make the breedings happen. Quality dogs bred and owned by quality people — can’t get better than that.

And now we practice that challenging virtue of patience.

Unlike humans, we cannot tell if a dog is pregnant until she is almost halfway through her pregnancy. If Claire is pregnant, her puppies will be due on January 21 and if Daisy is pregnant, her babies will arrive a week later (January 28). We will know the status of the potential L and M Litters by Christmas.

One thing I did on the way home today was to meet Dear Son-in-Law to pick up my new floor mats.

Self-care matters and especially during a Pandemic Winter. The mats are now covering most of our large living room. I needed a non-slip surface to train things like scent articles and so Elizabethanne and I did a mat order together since she was doing her basement.

Dear Daughter and Dear Dear Son-in-Law picked the mats up from her in Salt Lake City and then Dear Son-in-Law met me today as I took the long way home from Boise, saving me hours of driving to get those mats. He works nights and so we met very early and I was home by 1:00 pm.

Of course, I immediately put down the mats.

The living room is big — and it also has a treadmill and my Peloton bike…

It isn’t very fashionable but it will all help as we march through the dark winter in a pandemic.

What are you doing to make sure you will be okay through the next few months?

Remember — You Matter. And so do what you need to do to be okay, even if it means there is no furniture in your living room.

Furniture is so over-rated. Self-care, on the other hand, is essential.