You think you got it bad?

THIS IS A story about perspective. We are living in uncertain and trying times. We don't know if our small businesses will survive, and we certainly know life will be different. The quarantine stuff can really get to you.

Yesterday I was supposed to give a Zoom lesson. The woman messaged me and said she broke a string. So I met her at the store, and from more than 6 feet away, we did a beginner guitar lesson. It's the first one I've done in person in more than a month, and it will be the last until the stay-at-home order is lifted.

When we were trying to figure out a time to meet, she said, "I'm in chemo until 1:30." Yup. She's fighting cancer and has been for a long time. I never hear her complain. Could you imagine having to go through all that in the midst of a pandemic?

My uncle in Toronto was also getting chemo but he's had to stop treatments because his hospital is not a safe place right now, and he's in rough shape. Think about that the next time you bitch about not getting a haircut.

Sometimes it's the small things you need to savor. This morning Malcolm grabbed this horrendous purple chew bone from Angus and ripped the end with the squeaker in it. Yes! No more annoying squeaks when they are chewing on that bone! See? Little things.

You can put numbers on how many people get sick and die from this virus. But the mental strain isn't calculable. Stay strong, peeps. And keep things in perspective. We'll get through this.