The dog has gas. There's no gentler way to say this. She's been flatulent from the day she came home, and here we are a few days from her fifth birthday.

We love her, but she stinks. And this is where I've come to appreciate this masked world we are all living in.

Yes, they're uncomfortable. Yes, my chin now looks worse than it did at age 14.

But when you're trapped in a room with a farting dog, waiting for the vet to take a look at her mysterious red eyes, there's nothing quite like a piece of cloth firmly planted over your nose.

It's not the only advantage, let's be honest.

Nose dripping in the cold? No one's going to see it.

Forgot to brush this morning? No one's going to smell it.

Bit of spinach stuck in your teeth from that mid-day salad? No one will notice.

Best of all, throw a mask on, and you never, ever, ever have to smile at someone you dislike again. You don't even have to hide your grimace.

Heck, you can stick your tongue out at them! Just be prepared for a little bit of lint on the tip. Who said revenge wasn't bittersweet?

Perhaps it's that I've reached the “find all the silver linings” stage of the pandemic, or maybe this is that stage of the grieving process they call acceptance.

Either way, we know masks aren't just here for a while, but they're now telling us to double up on them. So look on the bright side, and keep your nose covered.