3/01/15: Medicine for Limp Spirits
Exhaustion seems to be a by-product of a broken shoulder, compounded by viral bronchitis. It’s a major challenge to do things that were easy before. Sleep is a powerful attraction for this battered body. I drop off immediately after flopping on the couch, and I stay down much longer. It’s been a difficult winter, all in all, but ‘spirit lifters’ have made a major difference.
I was awed to receive so many emails full of support and encouragement from you, dear readers. It’s such fun to open my computer and find floods of mail from all over the world, our Atlantic coastline, Florida, Phoenix, California…And every one- every single one, was full of warmth, best wishes. People shared delightful little movies about animal antics, as well as a myriad of other thoughtful gestures. I’m unable to answer them individually due to their numbers and my very limited energy level, but please know that I’m so grateful. Thank you!
Joe’s also coping with the virus, but we’ve still managed to see to Bryn’s needs. She’s a lovely young dog, and exercise is vital for her health and spirits. We feel unable to take her for her usual long city walks; sub-zero temps and icy sidewalks are certainly off-putting for folks in our situation- so we try to provide her daily dog park fix. Joe takes the first twenty minutes of park duty while I remain in the warm car: then I relieve him for twenty more freezing minutes.
In one dog park a yearling bulldog-pit bull mix took a liking to Bryn. They wrestled for control of a stiffly frozen tug-rope and sprinted around the park, one holding the tail of the other. There was something subtly different about the bulldog’s gait, though, so I questioned his owner.
“Charley’s an adventurous dog, but sometimes too exuberant,” she laughed. “We adopted him about six months ago. He’d been caged more most of his life, and when allowed to run about after being confined for so long he went little crazy and leaped too high over piles of rock-hard snow, stumbled, and Bang! His full weight landed on his weakened knees, and they shattered. The vet tried everything, but they wouldn’t mend properly; Charley couldn’t move. It was heartbreaking to watch him try to crawl. What could we offer? Well, There was one promising thing…knee replacement surgery. What a huge success! Now, with his slick new knees, he’s irrepressible. Look at him run! There’s no pain; only freedom.” So true. The bright-eyed bulldog cross was running flat out, thrilled to be mobile. And he clearly loved his family. The 60-pound dog kept running over to them to rub his head on their mittened hands before dashing off. The gesture warmed everyone’s hearts.
The most vociferous greeting came from my daughter’s 5-ounce yellow budgie, BB. She’s passionately social, and especially loves being wherever Peter and Lisa are. BB has the entire apartment to fly around in; the living room area is gym-huge, and she zips up to the ten-foot high ceilings, then swoops down to perch on her owners’ heads or shoulders to watch Lisa chop veggies, or gather washing.
One evening last week Joe and I decided we’d visit, as we were no longer contagious. I was tired of feeling so wrung out; a distraction would be fun!
We walked in to see Lisa doing vocal exercises at the piano. BB budgie, perched on her head, watched Lisa’s long fingers play the scales: she cheeped along with the do-re-mes. Her golden feathers, streaked with sky-blue, shone in the lamplight. I entered the big room; BB did a birdie double-take, then squawked in surprise and whizzed across the room to land atop my wind-tangled hair. She walked around up there chirping a welcome, and then lowered herself down to my eyebrows to look deep into my eyes. It was a “Where have you been, missy?” moment.
I offered my high-pitched ‘BBBB-birdie,’ followed by a whirring noise she loves. Head cocked, she looked deep into my eyes and crooned her happiness, then carefully groomed my eyebrows. I’d definitely been missed! She rode around on my head for some time, cheerily sounding off, before flying into the next room to join her other bird friends.
The little budgie had certainly revived my flagging spirits. Then, arriving home, Byn greeted us like royalty, too.
No doubt about it- friends in my ‘readership ether’- and animal spirits- are the very best medicine.
Exhaustion seems to be a by-product of a broken shoulder, compounded by viral bronchitis. It’s a major challenge to do things that were easy before. Sleep is a powerful attraction for this battered body. I drop off immediately after flopping on the couch, and I stay down much longer. It’s been a difficult winter, all in all, but ‘spirit lifters’ have made a major difference.
I was awed to receive so many emails full of support and encouragement from you, dear readers. It’s such fun to open my computer and find floods of mail from all over the world, our Atlantic coastline, Florida, Phoenix, California…And every one- every single one, was full of warmth, best wishes. People shared delightful little movies about animal antics, as well as a myriad of other thoughtful gestures. I’m unable to answer them individually due to their numbers and my very limited energy level, but please know that I’m so grateful. Thank you!
Joe’s also coping with the virus, but we’ve still managed to see to Bryn’s needs. She’s a lovely young dog, and exercise is vital for her health and spirits. We feel unable to take her for her usual long city walks; sub-zero temps and icy sidewalks are certainly off-putting for folks in our situation- so we try to provide her daily dog park fix. Joe takes the first twenty minutes of park duty while I remain in the warm car: then I relieve him for twenty more freezing minutes.
In one dog park a yearling bulldog-pit bull mix took a liking to Bryn. They wrestled for control of a stiffly frozen tug-rope and sprinted around the park, one holding the tail of the other. There was something subtly different about the bulldog’s gait, though, so I questioned his owner.
“Charley’s an adventurous dog, but sometimes too exuberant,” she laughed. “We adopted him about six months ago. He’d been caged more most of his life, and when allowed to run about after being confined for so long he went little crazy and leaped too high over piles of rock-hard snow, stumbled, and Bang! His full weight landed on his weakened knees, and they shattered. The vet tried everything, but they wouldn’t mend properly; Charley couldn’t move. It was heartbreaking to watch him try to crawl. What could we offer? Well, There was one promising thing…knee replacement surgery. What a huge success! Now, with his slick new knees, he’s irrepressible. Look at him run! There’s no pain; only freedom.” So true. The bright-eyed bulldog cross was running flat out, thrilled to be mobile. And he clearly loved his family. The 60-pound dog kept running over to them to rub his head on their mittened hands before dashing off. The gesture warmed everyone’s hearts.
The most vociferous greeting came from my daughter’s 5-ounce yellow budgie, BB. She’s passionately social, and especially loves being wherever Peter and Lisa are. BB has the entire apartment to fly around in; the living room area is gym-huge, and she zips up to the ten-foot high ceilings, then swoops down to perch on her owners’ heads or shoulders to watch Lisa chop veggies, or gather washing.
One evening last week Joe and I decided we’d visit, as we were no longer contagious. I was tired of feeling so wrung out; a distraction would be fun!
We walked in to see Lisa doing vocal exercises at the piano. BB budgie, perched on her head, watched Lisa’s long fingers play the scales: she cheeped along with the do-re-mes. Her golden feathers, streaked with sky-blue, shone in the lamplight. I entered the big room; BB did a birdie double-take, then squawked in surprise and whizzed across the room to land atop my wind-tangled hair. She walked around up there chirping a welcome, and then lowered herself down to my eyebrows to look deep into my eyes. It was a “Where have you been, missy?” moment.
I offered my high-pitched ‘BBBB-birdie,’ followed by a whirring noise she loves. Head cocked, she looked deep into my eyes and crooned her happiness, then carefully groomed my eyebrows. I’d definitely been missed! She rode around on my head for some time, cheerily sounding off, before flying into the next room to join her other bird friends.
The little budgie had certainly revived my flagging spirits. Then, arriving home, Byn greeted us like royalty, too.
No doubt about it- friends in my ‘readership ether’- and animal spirits- are the very best medicine.