How our four-legged friends are making a difference today.

Quarantine life has been difficult for many parents. It's not only the stress of having your children home all day long, becoming their teacher (social learning), even as a referee as well as remaining their parent --- you might even be working from home or worse -- concerned because you just lost your job and worried about where your next paycheck will come from.

It's all overwhelming and everyone is dealing with their own issues and challenges. In a recent survey 63 percent of parents of 6-12 year old children are distressed about balancing work and teaching their kids.

I honestly haven't seen enough written about our seniors. The grandparents to all these children that are sheltered-in-place -- driving parents crazy. (Kidding, sort of).

I'm hopeful that many parents Facetime with their relatives, but what are we doing as neighbors for these grandparents - for the elderly?

Many of us ask them what they need when we make trips to the grocery store, however companionship is priceless.

Let's treat these seniors like they are our own grandparents. It's how I like to think about it. What if they were my father or mother (grandmother or grandfather)? I'm certainly hoping their neighbors are reaching out to them.

Loneliness is real

At all ages we're hearing how quarantine life, as it extends longer, could develop into loneliness if it hasn't already.

We must practice social and physical distancing, but explain that to your pet.

I went out for our walk, and my dog realized two of our neighbors sitting on the bench (6 feet apart) and he literally got up between them.

They were both so excited! They actually asked ME to snap a picture of them! Wow, that's rare, I thought, as it's usually the young people that want to be digitally remembered. However these two best friends were so happy to have this canine friend join them, they wanted this memory to share with others.

I'm sure it's something they talked about for the entire week (or more).

Just because we are all being socially responsible, it doesn't mean we stop communicating with people around us - our neighbors. Keep our distance, yet send in our four-legged friends to bring a smile to others and keep them sharing stories to their friends and family. Everyone needs a purpose.

It's a frisbee in Cooper's mouth. He was on his way to play but had to stop and say hello to his neighbors. This is a reminder, don't miss these opportunities to stop and chat with others in your neighborhood - of course being mindful of social etiquette in today's world. You never know when you just changed someone's day.