When I first heard that lockdown (as we call “shelter in place” in the UK) was a possibility. I was so excited about all the stuff I would be able to do. I was going to write hundreds of blog posts, workout every day, do amazing meal prep, clean the house top to bottom, finish a baby quilt for a friend’s kid who is now three, and start/finish my book about climbing Kilimanjaro. Many of my colleagues were worried about being bored, while I was excited to finally finish all the projects I had started over the years.
And then we got a puppy. We haven’t talked much about our previous dog, which we no longer have. It was hard decision to make not to keep her. Sadly, she was unpredictably aggressive (no matter how much we worked with trainers and the charity we adopted her from). I didn’t think we could get another dog anytime soon after that. However, when we saw all of our upcoming trips being cancelled for months on end, we figured now was the best time to get a puppy. To be clear, normally I am in favor adopting older dogs, who are already house trained, their personality is established, and they are a bit more chilled out. Our experience with our previous dog really upset us quite a bit and we wanted to train a dog to be used to us, up for the pub, and used to riding on the Tube.
Enter Maple (aka moaning_maple on Instagram). She is a Staffie-Mastiff mix and now 11 weeks old. It is estimated she will be 20-25kg when adult-sized but who knows! We love her floppy ears, big paws, and her vocal yawns. We are not keen on the fact that she wakes up three times in the night and takes a lot of coaxing on our laps to fall back asleep. We think we have a system now of setting an alarm and waking her up first, as she then tends to go back to bed right away. I bet the upstairs neighbors appreciate this too!
During the day, she is awake for one to two hours and then naps for the same amount of time, on and off all day. I work from home for a week and then go into work, while my husband is working from home full-time. We are therefore working in shifts to entertain her and work while she is sleeping. The lack of sleep is really playing havoc on me though. I find it hard to concentrate when she is awake as she still has accidents in the house and in her crate (yes, her crate is just bigger than her). When she is sleeping, I am just about able to get into a rhythm when she wakes up and needs me again. Sometime I am so tired, I nap when she naps. Yes, it is really like having a baby (so I am told).
Yesterday, we sat down to address the next phase of her training. As you can imagine, it has been difficult to socialize her during lockdown. We were ‘walking’ her in a rucksack once a day but there were not too many people or cars out. I have taken her into the shops a few times too. She has had her vaccinations now and is able to go on a 10 minute walk. We sometimes carry her to the local park so that she can meet other dogs. Otherwise, we walk her around the block so she can see people, cars, bicycles, and more.
Our biggest priority now is that she learns her name and sleeps through the night. I hope that by sleeping through the night, my energy, and mojo to do more, will return. Having a dog will take up a lot of the time I would use to exercise, craft, or study. She loves us very much and loves to cuddle, which was a treat when she weighed 3kg but also a habit we are trying to break (a 25kg lap dog might not be everyone’s idea of a good time). Once she has stopped growing, I hope she will enjoy being my running buddy.
To rediscover my motivation and get back on the fitness track (and not on the over-eating-and-drinking-alcohol train I have been on), I am starting my ’30 Days to Happy’ program tomorrow (Wednesday 15 April). Many of my friends have shared with me how tired they have felt during lockdown. How they can’t stop eating and drinking throughout the day when stuck inside. How they feel anxious about the state of the world under the cloud of this pandemic. ’30 Days to Happy’ is a safe place to feel uncomfortable, to grow a little outside your comfort zone by exploring ways to find joy through fitness, food, fun, and self-care. Activities will only take 5-10 minutes per day. For those missing structure or being able to plan out their time, this program offers you both, as well as a small distraction from what is going on outside your front door. The accountability of sharing your weekly achievements will help you complete the worksheets, challenges, and workouts we have planned over the course of the 30 days. And, of course, we will cheer each other on in our private Facebook group. A month might seen like a long time to work together but the tools I will teach you will last a lifetime.
In support of all of the healthcare professionals out there, I am offering this program for free to NHS workers (doctors, nurses, patient porters, receptionists, anyone working in a hospital, etc outside the UK). Email mollie@ptmollie.com with NHS in subject to reserve your spot. Or to register now (you need to sign up today as we start tomorrow), click here.
There is a good chance Maple will make a few appearances on the program, if you need an additional reason to join. Although she has taken my mojo, I know my ’30 Days to Happy’ participants will help my mojo return again. Whatever has taken your mojo away, let me try to help bring it back with ’30 Days to Happy.’
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