Yesterday was spectacularly beautiful. The sun was shining; Mother Nature was begging us to get out and bask. (Il Cane was also begging us for a chance to get out and sniff all the things.) We decided that hike was very overdue.

We got to our selected hiking spot, which has a tiny parking lot and is relatively off the grid. There were a few cars there, but we decided to give it a try. It was nice for a while, but we kept encountering people. The trail felt narrow, and we decided that we needed to find a new location.

En route to Location #2, we decided to swing by the house and grab our masks. Suddenly, Bambino no longer wanted to hike. “Please,” I pleaded, noting that the dog desperately needed to channel his inner wolf. Bambino reluctantly obliged.

I told him he didn’t have to start out wearing his mask, but that we all needed to put them on if we saw people approaching. Everything was fine until we saw our first group of hikers.

As soon as they passed, he burst into tears. “Mom, it’s too much! I can’t wear it. People will think I’m sick. Or weird.” He crumpled into my arms.

I couldn’t convince him that he was doing the right thing. At that moment, Bambino couldn’t have cared less about flattening the curve. He was a little boy who was scared, embarrassed, and really confused.

Life seemed pretty normal until his mommy made him wear a mask. Then it wasn’t.

We wrapped up our hike, made him an extra-extra-large “kiddy cocktail,” and let him get his (mask-free) wiggles out in our backyard. He’s doing just fine now– and he says he’ll wear his mask again. “We have to be warriors, Mama. I’ll be strong.”

Wearing a mask isn’t the end of the world, but it sure feels like it sometimes. We’ll get used to this new normal, friends. In the meantime, let’s be kind to each other (and provide extra Maraschino cherries).