Welcome November. The beginning of the best holiday season. I come from a large close-knitted family, we get together just to get together, we celebrate birthdays, holidays, graduations, you name it, we do it together. And this is what brings me to the issue of COVID, since COVID our lives have been turned upside down. It has been months since I have spent quality time with my family. At home, we have taken precautionary measures to protect ourselves and others, and therefore, get togethers are no more. Isolation started kicking-in sometime in May and depression set in by June. However, there were two things that guided me through the COVID and prevented it from altering everything good in my life.
First, I made it a point to continue to show up at my office during the pandemic. For months, at the office, we would not permit clients to enter the building, but we still worked for them and communicated with them telephonically, virtually, or sometimes just standing outside the building maintaining social distance. This was a tremendous help from the monotony of being locked down. It also helped with the loneliness that was beginning to creep into my life being estranged from my family. I thank God every day for my law partner (Kimberly LaSure) and my assistant (Margaret Serret) and for the sisterhood we share in our office. What would have I done without them?
Second, I came to realize on a deeper level, the love I have for my dog, Alpha. My relationship with him was an important key in keeping me sane and maintaining my mental and emotional stability during the pandemic. Through him I drew most of my strength and inspiration, daily. You see, every morning when I rise, there lay this sturdy built, friendly and loyal creature by my side. Like clockwork, he jumps on my bed to be the first one to greet me in the morning, the only way he knows how, and I reciprocate the love. He always waits so patiently as I get ready to take him on his morning walk. When we finally get out, we always walk east toward the sunrise. He raises his nose in the air taking in a new breath of fresh air. He seems to start his day feeling exactly how he makes me feel, happy to be alive, happy to have another day, and happy to be with someone that loves him unconditionally.
My days seem so long fighting for justice through this isolation, but it is my morning inspiration from Alpha that sets the tone for me daily. The happiness I draw from him inspires me to continue to make a difference and fight the good fight, despite the distance from my loved ones, colleagues, and friends. When I arrive home at the end of my day, there is my boy Alpha waiting to welcome me back home the same way he welcomes me into a new morning.
This will be my very first Holiday, not celebrating with my family, but we will use every means to make it as close as possible. We will zoom on Thanksgiving at 5:00pm, as we all sit at our own dinner tables for dinner. We will pray together and eat together via zoom, as long as the internet does not disconnect us. And if we do get disconnected, Alpha will be with me and my spouse, and our other pets. And we will still make the best out of the holidays.
I look forward to a sense of normalcy, when we can be together again, when I can hug my family and pals, and when at the end of a tough day I can get together with my buddies for a drink or too! 😊 In the meantime, the moral of my story is, when we face uncertain challenges try to find something that can inspire you and keep you filled with hope and love. And one final point, a pet is a wonderful source of love.
Migdalia Perez
Here is my dog Alpha:
