This is Chewie. She is my friend and most loyal companion. We (some would say stupidly) got her as a newly weaned pup when I was six months pregnant with our second child, so we were dealing with a sock eating* puppy and newborn at the same time.

Now that she’s four years old, she’s a lot calmer, and just loves to snuggle with her people, be it me, my husband or either of the children (you can often find The Oldest sitting on the floor, her laying perpendicularly behind him, leaning up against her almost as a backrest). And to be honest, there’s often nothing more calming than having her lay across your lap. Between the weight (she weighs about 90lbs) and the heat and the steadiness of her breath and her heartbeat, no matter my mood or the state of my anxiety, I find myself breathing more deeply and finding calm and peace. I know that she loves me, and I love her, and we don’t need much more than that in each other. Who needs a weighted blanket when you have a Chewie, right?

So, here’s my question: who in your life is your weighted blanket? I’m not talking about who lays across your lap, keeping you warm and weighing you down. I’m talking about the people (or the animals) in your life that are your anchors and your source of peace…the ones that ground you, cause you to breathe deeply and become calm…the ones that bring you peace…the ones that you love and that love you and that you don’t need to know much more than that. Who are they in your life?

And who are you a weighted blanket for? How can you bring peace and comfort and calm and love to in your life? How do you ground others and relieve anxiety? How do you show unconditional love?

How can we all do better and be better in this regard?

Friends, I am writing this late because, quite frankly, I’ve been struggling with the words all day. It’s a scary world out there…let’s love one another though all of this...let us be *that person* for each other.

#masters2020 #peaceandcalm #anxiety #mundaneholy

*seriously, when I was in the hospital having our child, my husband was having to take her to vet because she had gotten a sock stuck in her intestinal tract!