The Week We Kept Going Anyway

Content Note: This post discusses disability, chronic illness, migraines, seizures, physical symptoms, service-dog work, fatigue, and navigating a particularly difficult week.

Welcome to The Crippled Cryptid.

Disability.

Chronic illness.

Service dogs.

Dogs being dogs.

And survival without the performance.

If you’re new here…

Hi.

I’m Luna Bean.

Medical Alert Service Dog.

Certified Good Girl.

Professional Mama Supervisor.

Full-time ball goblin.

And, apparently…

Big Sister.

I have a lot of jobs.

Some of them are very serious.

I notice changes in Mama’s body.

Migraines.

Seizures.

Heart rate spikes.

Muscle spasms.

The suspicious little shifts that tell me something isn’t right.

I alert.

I interrupt spirals.

I do Deep Pressure Therapy.

I retrieve things when Mama drops them.

I remind her when her body is being difficult.

And when Mama is being difficult too…

Well.

Sometimes I call her Mumther.

That’s what she’s there for.

Mama says I keep an eye on her.

I think Mama needs supervision.

There is a difference.

She gets stubborn.

She says she’s fine.

Sometimes she’s not.

So, I watch.

I listen.

I wait.

And when I need to, I make sure she pays attention to what her body is telling her.

Because that’s my Mama.

She’s my person.

But my world is bigger than Mama.

There is M&M.

Mama #2.

Treat provider.

Belly rub specialist.

Bandana procurement officer.

In the spring, summer, and fall, she picks out my bandanas.

When the weather gets cold, she finds sweaters for me and my baby brother.

She says we need to stay warm.

I allow this.

Mostly.

Then there is the Yard Yeti.

BJ.

Mama’s little brother.

My best friend.

He throws my ball farther than anybody else.

This is an extremely important qualification.

He says, “Lulus!” every time he sees me.

Naturally, I respond with maximum bork.

Maximum boing.

Maximum tail.

This is also the law.

Then there is the orange Jeep.

Mama’s Jeep.

My Jeep.

Okay, technically Mama’s Jeep.

But I am an important passenger.

I like car rides.

I like going places.

I like watching the world happen through the window.

And then…

There is Blitzø.

My baby brother.

My Potato.

My giant spotted little cow.

He is learning.

I am teaching.

Sometimes I wrestle him.

Sometimes I correct him.

Sometimes I let him follow me around the yard.

Sometimes he touches my toys.

Sometimes he touches my ears.

Sometimes…

I need a break.

I am allowed to need a break.

But he’s Pack.

And he’s my baby brother.

So, I suppose…

I’ll keep him.

He has grown on me.

A little.

This Pack has changed.

It’s gotten bigger.

There are more paws.

More people.

More toys.

More fur.

More reasons to supervise everybody.

But there is also more love.

And I like that.

A lot.

🐾 Luna’s Main Character Energy

Mama says I have “Main Character Energy.”

Whatever the Fluff that means.

She says it a lot.

Usually when I’m doing something important.

Like supervising.

Or chasing my ball.

Or sitting dramatically in the middle of the room because everyone else is clearly doing something wrong.

Sometimes she looks at me with that particular face she gets when she’s thinking about a story.

I know that face.

There are apparently… plans.

Mama says some of them involve me.

She won’t tell me everything.

Which is rude.

But I have learned that when Mama starts saying things like “Someday…” and “I have an idea…”

I should probably pay attention.

Because apparently…

I have Main Character Energy.

Whatever the Fluff that means.

Personally, I think it means I am very important.

Which is correct.

🐾

Most days around here are pretty quiet.

Sometimes we are in Bed Jail™.

Sometimes we’re outside.

Sometimes we’re in the Jeep.

Sometimes I’m working.

Sometimes I’m playing.

And sometimes…

I am chasing the ball for approximately the four hundredth time because apparently nobody else understands that this is my purpose in life.

I am many things.

Service dog.

Big sister.

Daughter.

Adventure dog.

Jeep dog.

Ball goblin.

Snack enthusiast.

Professional Good Girl.

But most importantly…

I am Luna.

And this is my Friday.

Welcome back to the Lunatic Café.

🐾 On today’s menu: Friday Takeover.

🐾 Hi, Hello!

Sit, Stay!

It is I, Luna Bean!

If you didn’t already know this…

It is Friday.

Which means you made it through another week.

I’m proud of you.

You did it!

And on Fridays…

I get to tell you what’s been going on around here.

The good.

The bad.

The missed alerts.

The times Mama said she was fine when she was, in fact, not fine.

The things she misses.

The things she ignores.

The things she plays off as “probably just being overdramatic,” like anyone here believes that…

But this week?

This week has sucked.

And I’m not even going to sugarcoat it.

The weather has been too much for all of us.

Which means all the things we wanted to do…

Got pushed aside.

Put on the backburner.

Delayed.

The beach trip Mama wanted to take us on, because Aunt D thought it would be fun for us to play in the sand and water?

Delayed.

The outdoor adventures?

Delayed.

The new frisbee?

Waiting.

Because the weather apparently decided that we had all moved to the surface of the sun.

And then, just to make things interesting, it started bouncing back and forth between insanely hot and rainy and stormy.

Mama did not like that.

Her head didn’t like that.

Mama #2’s head didn’t like that either.

So, there was a lot of Bed Jail™.

There was also a lot of playtime.

Just…

Inside playtime.

And honestly?

That’s okay.

Because sometimes being a dog means running around outside until your paws are tired.

And sometimes being a dog means figuring out how to have a good time when the sky is being dramatic.

Very, very dramatic.

🧠🐾 Indoor Adventures

This week we learned about food puzzles.

Well…

My baby brother learned about food puzzles.

I already know what food puzzles are.

I love my food puzzles.

But apparently Potato needed an introduction.

I also had to teach him about the other kind of breakfast training.

The kind where Mama puts all of our breakfast into a training pouch.

Instead of eating from our slow feeders or bowls, we get handfuls throughout the morning.

Then we have to do something Mama asks before we get our next bite.

Because sometimes mental stimulation is just as important as physical exercise.

And sometimes…

We just wanna be dogs.

So, Mama gets creative.

Sometimes handfuls are given directly to us.

Sometimes she scatter-feeds our breakfast across a clean floor, and we have to use our brains and our noses to find it ourselves.

Don’t worry.

She encourages us to find it.

This isn’t about making us compete.

It’s about teaching us.

How to work together.

How not to hoard things.

How not to steal from each other.

How to share space.

How to coexist.

Because having a baby brother can be hard.

Mama had to learn that one too when she was younger.

And most of all…

How to spend time together.

So that’s what we’re doing today.

Learning how to coexist peacefully.

Because the sky cannot decide if it wants to be 82 fluffing degrees or rain and thunder.

And that is honestly rude.

If you ask me, there are better ways to spend a Friday.

Outside playing with our new frisbee.

Outside playing with our balls.

Snuggled up with Mama and Mama #2.

I can think of approximately a million other ways.

Instead, the weather is saying no.

And I don’t like it.

🌦️ Weekend Forecast: Luna Has Opinions

I have hopes for this weekend.

The nonsense weather is supposed to calm down.

But the weatherman doesn’t always tell the truth.

Sometimes he says one thing…

And the sky does the exact opposite.

Mama does not appreciate this.

Frankly?

Neither do I.

Because I have plans.

And those plans involve outside.

Preferably with a ball.

Or a frisbee.

Or both.

I am flexible.

🎃🐾 The Fall Collar Situation

In other news…

Binka has changed collars.

And so have I.

My daisies have officially been retired for a little while.

It’s September now.

Which means it’s fall.

Maybe not officially.

Maybe not technically.

But Mama is feeling all of the fall things.

And around here?

That means it’s fall.

So, I got my orange spooky witchy collar back.

Naturally.

And Binka?

He outgrew his little black Martingale.

Which hurt Mama’s feelings.

But!

He finally fits the blue Rocket Pop collar Mama originally got for him.

So that’s what he’s wearing right now.

Yes.

We still have our Fi collars on.

They never leave us.

That’s why Mama loves the adapters so much.

They let her put our Fi trackers on whatever collar we’re wearing while still keeping our health and activity data connected.

Fashion.

Function.

Maximum supervision.

Mama approves.

I approve.

Potato has not been consulted.

🌙🐾 Luna’s Closing Notes

That’s all for this week’s takeover.

Thank you for sitting with me for a little while.

I know Mama talks about a lot of things around here.

Her body.

Her writing.

Her adventures.

Her recovery.

Her weird stories.

Her dogs.

Her life.

But I want you to know something.

This isn’t just Mama’s life anymore.

It’s ours.

Mine.

M&M’s.

BJ’s.

Blitzø’s.

And yours too, if you’ve been sitting around the Den with us.

I have a job.

It’s an important one.

I watch Mama.

I alert when something is wrong.

I help her when her body stops cooperating.

I make sure she doesn’t wander too far into the dark.

But I also have a life.

I chase my ball.

I ride in the orange Jeep.

I supervise the yard.

I steal warm spots.

I wear the bandanas M&M picks out.

I wear sweaters when it’s cold.

I wrestle my baby brother.

I teach him things.

I tell him when he’s being rude.

I let him know when he’s allowed to follow me.

And sometimes…

I walk away because even Big Sisters need quiet time.

That’s okay too.

I don’t have to be working every second to be important.

Neither do you.

Mama says I remind her of that.

Maybe she’s right.

Maybe that’s part of my job too.

So, if this week was hard…

Rest.

If your body is tired…

Listen to it.

If you need help…

Ask.

If someone offers care…

You don’t have to earn it first.

And if you had a good week?

Tell somebody.

Celebrate it.

Throw the ball.

Eat the snack.

Take the car ride.

Sit in the sunshine.

Do the thing that makes your tail wag.

Life isn’t only about getting through the difficult parts.

Sometimes it’s about noticing the good ones while they’re happening.

And trust me…

I am very good at noticing the good ones.

Especially if the good one involves a tennis ball.

🐾

🐾 Luna’s Official Weekly Report

Mama: Supervised.

Mama #2: Fashionably prepared.

BJ: Excellent throwing arm.

Blitzø: Still baby. Still learning. Still mine.

Orange Jeep: Approved.

Ball: Chased.

Snacks: Investigated.

Cuddles: Accepted.

Work: Completed.

Good Girl Status: Obviously.

Pack: Safe.

Den: Full.

Friday: Successful.

Until next Friday…

I’ll be here.

Watching.

Listening.

Playing.

Working.

And probably asking someone to throw my ball.

Love you.

Now say it back.

🐾 Luna Bean

Medical Alert Service Dog, Big Sister, Ball Goblin & Professional Mama Supervisor

(on behalf of Mama)

© The Crippled Cryptid

Disability. Honesty. A little chaos.

Absolutely dog fur, puppy wrestling, and Luna Bean attitude.

🔗 https://linktr.ee/skylanarissa

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If you want to support the long, unglamorous work of survival and mobility:

💜 https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-skys-journey-to-health-and-mobility