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“All you need is love…” the Beatles sing-out in an old song with lyrics that everyone can identify with. The desire for love and affection is built into our spirits. God himself even proclaimed it in Genesis when He said:  It’s not good for man to be alone. So, from the beginning of creation, God recognized man’s need for companionship.

Affection is something we all crave and is primarily desired from the people in our lives in the form of a hug, kiss, embrace, holding hands, or just a simple touch. But it can also come from our furry friends. However, the truth of its necessity was recently driven home to me during some medical trials my husband and I have endured.

I am blessed to have an affectionate and loving husband for more than fifty years. And being a “hugger,” myself, I freely and frequently give and receive hugs from friends, family, and sometimes even new acquaintances. So, when I recently contracted Covid and had to isolate from my husband and everyone else, my natural need for affection was suddenly brought to the forefront like never before.

It was my first experience with Covid since its outbreak in 2020, but an eye-opening experience to the devastation on a person’s emotions like I’d never experienced. One of the worst side effects of the disease wasn’t just the weakness my body experienced, but the loneliness that came from isolation from others.

Lending further difficulty to the illness was the timing of it because it happened while my husband was in the hospital recovering from serious open-heart surgery. So, to protect him from contracting what would be devastating to him in his fragile condition, I had to isolate in a bedroom at our son’s house for several days. And while there were brief verbal exchanges from a distance, my son and his wife were frequently absent for hours at a time. And out of precaution and for their protection, all conversation was kept at a great distance and to a minimum. Of course, that also meant I couldn’t even touch anyone, never mind give or receive hugs or kisses.

Adding another layer of pain to the situation, I was mourning the loss of my little dog, Caeser, who I had to put down one week before I became ill. But God in His great goodness and mercy saw to it that I would get some affection. You see, every morning an adorable little toy poodle named Cinnamon would bound into my bedroom and shower me with love and kisses. My son and his wife had also recently lost their little dog and so Cinnamon had come to live with them just a few weeks before I got ill. Now this little furball spent a great deal of his day lying by my side and freely giving me affection. The affection I so craved but no one else could give.

In my novel, The Buzz @ Chicky-Pie’s Café, you might remember the mention of a dog named Skippy who doesn’t get much attention except from Elise. In one scene, Elise goes to let him outside and Skippy excitedly wags his tail when he sees her, then puts his paw on her leg as if to say thanks. Even that little sign of affection was welcomed by her wanting soul. And if you watched the video on YouTube that I made of little Ceaser for his 20^th Birthday, then you know that I promised Ceaser that I would continue his legacy by naming a new dog after him in my sequel. And true to my promise, before he passed away, I did just that.

Thank fully I recovered from Covid without any major issues and was able to reunite with my husband and care for him. But he’s still in some pain and his body very fragile so we keep our hugs extra gentile.

When the sequel to the Buzz @ Chicky-Pie’s Café is released, don’t forget to look for how my little furry friend, Ceaser continues to live on. In the meantime, I pray you will always live and love in a way that lifts the spirits and emotions of others—with affection.