The coronavirus panic is now in full swing and it’s nearly impossible to go more than an hour or two without someone mentioning it, or seeing something about it while scrolling through social media. On top of that, every day last week, it was my job to research how the coronavirus was going to affect our customers and how it would ultimately affect our business. I won’t go into much detail, but let me tell you, each day it just kept getting more and more depressing! With all this fear and panic going around, it can sometimes be hard to stay positive. The unknown is frightening, and no one really knows just how far this is going to go.

So, each day when I got off of work this week, I took a little bit of time to think about all of the good things in my life. I tried to focus solely on the positives, even if it was only for a few minutes at a time; because after a full day of reading about all of the things going wrong in the world, I needed to take a little bit of time to focus on what was going right instead.

First of all, I still have a job and I am still bringing home a paycheck. A lot of businesses are closing, or limiting access in order to help prevent the spread of the virus. And while I think having a day or two off would be mighty nice, I know if my work were to close, it would likely be more than just a few days. Things are changing every day, and by the end of next week, I might be working from home for a while, but as long as I am working, I am happy. I won’t complain about having to work when there are so many people out there who wish they could be right now.

Second, all of my friends and family are as healthy as can be expected during this time. Sure, we are all quarantined in our homes for the foreseeable future, but no one said you couldn’t go outside and still get some exercise. And who said you can’t exercise with a small group of people? Even if that’s the only time you get to see other people, it’s better than nothing! We went for a run this morning with some of the run club folks, and it was a good stress reliever to get out there and talk to people, and encourage each other to stay positive. We can’t control everything, but we can control our own sanity, so do what you need to in order to get yourselves through this.

I’ve also thanked God several times this week that I chose to move back to South Dakota when I did. While every state has been exposed to COVID-19 in some way or another, it is much less intense here in SD than it is in VA and DC. Not to mention, if one of my family members were to come down with the virus, I certainly wouldn’t want to be so far away from home! Everything happens for a reason, and I’m glad that being half a country away from my family during this time is not something I have to worry about.

Finally, I am extremely thankful for the two guys who have walked into my life recently – Dan and Dobby. I’ve been spending as much time with Dan as I possibly can, and we are able to vent to each other and talk about anything else to keep our minds off the crappy stuff – or at least try really hard to keep our minds off of it! I spent most of yesterday with him, and we had a lazy day watching movies and taking the dogs to the dog park. I barely looked at my phone all day and I almost forgot about the coronavirus for a while. It was great to escape from that reality for a little bit with some good company. And of course, Dobby is my little guard/snuggle pup, who will keep all the scary things away and stay close when I need it. The two of them have been lifesavers, more than they know!

And in case anyone needs an additional pick me up during their quarantines, here are a bunch of pictures of Dobby. Cute puppies can put a smile on anyone’s face right!?

Hope everyone stays healthy and takes some time to think about what’s going right in your life. Even in the darkest times, there’s always something to be thankful for!

Until next time! 🙂

Megan Reiffenberger