Love from Southern Switzerland

Dear Friends,

We are thinking of you all and sending love from southern Switzerland.

This morning, we had breakfast kibble with our friend, Unicorn. Our ears are flipped back in the fashion we call our bib. After breakfast, we take off our bib and restore our ears to factory settings.

We are grateful that you are doing all of the following:

• wash your hands (sing Happy Birthday song twice)
• maintain physical distance (six feet)
• when you are outside, do not touch your face 
• do not handle cash
• if you are over 65, do not go out at all and have someone else do your grocery shopping
• if you are young, offer to do grocery shopping and anything else your wise elders need
• do not visit elders in person; if you visit, stay outside and wave
• do maintain social contact with your loved ones
• do set-up a family communication plan
• do care for yourself and your mental health in all possible ways
• stay home for public health and remember the public in public health
• try to be sure that any of your actions do not lead to inadvertent accidents that would require medical attention and divert needed resources

Remember: you can be a hero by staying home.

Things here are awful and strange. The deaths in Italy are heartbreaking. (The original hot spot of COVID19 in Lombardy, Italy is one and a half hours south of us.) Life adjustments require an acknowledgement of grief for our previous lives, grief for the suffering and loss of life, and gratitude for our current lives. We balance realism and optimism. The daffodils bloomed last week, so there are brilliant yellow batches heralding spring. We both work from home. We go out to pee/poo Tootsie, or to get groceries. We keep track of our neighbors. We offer help. (Our words make it sound as if we've made these transitions gracefully; we have not!) The incredible life force Tootsie demonstrates daily is our inspiration.

We still walk Tootsie, but none of her doggy friends can sniff and say hello, so those doggy friends yip and bark from a distance. Chica, Hakim, Benji, Idéfix, Lafayette, and others miss their Tootsie--we all call Tootsie their Bisnonna, or Great Grandmother. We absolutely maintain social distance. We are blessed with a tube of fur who has never been particularly social. Back in the day, Tootsie used to stand at the side of doggy groups and bark. It was freaking embarrassing!

I want to name all of our friends! You know who you are. Take care. We will update as able.
Xo