She guards her neighborhood

Atop the big comfy couch
London, ON
March 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

What I wouldn't give to know what's going on between those delightful schnu* ears of hers.

She must know that something's up. Her people are home. All. The. Time. The dining room table is filled with giant monitors and computers. The kitchen table sometimes serves as a studio, her daddy shushing everybody as he turns on his cameras. The news is always on. The air feels different.

She gets extra walks wherever we can squeeze them in. We still cross the road to avoid approaching strangers, but she can't appreciate that the reason has changed. For so long, it was because she was just a terribly behaved puppy. Now it's because of us.

I wish I could absorb some of her innocence. Part of me wishes I, too, could plop myself on the back of the sofa and scan the backyard for hours in a never-ending search for squirrels and rabbits. I wish I could be shielded from the constant state of, I don't even know what to call it. Rising fear? Creeping dread? Dull sadness? A mixture of all of them? Whatever it is, she's still her nutty-Schnauzer self, and for that we're grateful.

I think the key to this whole experience will be finding that sense of refuge, that quiet spot, like the top of the couch overlooking the backyard, where none of that outside-world/scary stuff can touch us. Where we can take a break from the endless thrum of breaking news and just look for squirrels. Or eat a figurative (or literal) Oreo. Or 6. Or just...be.

From the looks of it, Calli the Wonderschnauzer has already figured it out. We'd do well to follow her lead.

So if you can't find me today, I may be hanging out with her on the couch. Don't worry: I'll leave the squirrels to her.

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* Schnu - my short form for Schnauzer. It seems to fit her. She seems to respond to it. It makes me smile. Sometimes, that's all you really need.

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