Like everyone else in the world, I’ve been on house arrest drinking deeply from the home brew of cortisol over fear of catching Covid19. The good news is that I’ve had much more time to write. The bad news is that as the months drag on, all I have to say is “ahhhhhhhhhh!” I also have nothing but time to sing but no one to sing with; and the song in my heart is “La la laaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!”
My two grown kids, my daughter’s boyfriend, and my teenage son are all crammed in our tiny house full of dogs while my essential but excessive over worker husband resides in a different home because we have family members at risk. I’m managing care for my senior relatives from afar and have not seen them since January. And we are one of the lucky ones in this #2020 pandemonium!
When I started reading “The Dogs of Christmas” by my friend W. Bruce Cameron I found what any other year would have been significant troubles of the characters annoying. “They have it easy! Try having those issues without human contact! Try being alone or leaving loved ones alone in the hospital! Try cancelling all activities for the kids! Then talk to me about conflict and resolution in a story arc!”
But mid way through the book, I fell into the story and remembered what it was like before Covid. It was both a sweet escape and a gentle reminder of just how much we are all enduring - in the middle of our own stories. So much that we all took for granted was the fabric and balm for the beleaguered characters in A Dog’s Perfect Christmas. The conflicts were complex enough to keep my interest while the tone was light enough to pull me back from the abyss of despair and plop me back into good old normal. Plus...a puppy. I don’t usually use my Blahg to recommend books, but I can’t imagine a more perfect book to heal your heart during Covid.
W. Bruce Cameron made a name for himself by writing books and movies that make us cry and laugh and hope. I am not able to sugar coat or deny the pain and suffering all around me these days. But I’m going to try to do what Bruce has done and find a way to channel my dogs (who are the ONLY ones I know thriving during this prolonged house arrest). The world has become such a mess that I don’t want to be here now, but the only way to find peace to endure until things brighten is to do as Bailey Bailey Bailey says in the last line of “A Dog’s Purpose” (one of Bruce’s other best sellers); and be here NOW. This too shall pass...so may I recommend you pick up a copy of A Dog’s Perfect Christmas to pass the time in the meantime? link to pre-order on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/Dogs-Perfect-Christmas-Bruce-Cameron/dp/1250163587 Jill, admin
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