The Victory is in the Daily Wins

It’s a sleepy, drizzly day here in Fort Worth. I’ve been sitting on this post for a few hours, trying to think of what to say. 

It feels like we haven’t done much, and yet. I know that’s not true. I remember there were quite a few things we did this week that felt like “small victories”. But, something I’ve learned on this journey is that some things that feel big in the moment lose their importance in the fullness of time. And vice versa.

But, seeing as how I don’t have any “big revelations to share” sitting on my heart, let me see if I can remember them. I may derail onto some rabbit trails, so let’s see how this ends up in the fullness of time. 😉

• Marina graduated, and Josie finished all her work I teach her–all she has left is math. Yay girlies! 💜 What this means is my schedule has… opened up. Which leads to…
• Training has stepped up quite a bit. We uploaded 7 training videos this week. (For reference, we have been doing 3-4.) We probably could’ve done more, but I’m not ready to claim ‘done’ with those.
• We’ve gone out in public several times and he has done so good! I’m talking Heel almost the entire time! Record us, travel back in time two weeks and show then-me the video, and I may very well think it’s an entirely different dog! Yes, we’ve had bad days, but I can’t express how proud I am of him! 
• He tasked on command! Translation: when given the command to respond to my seizure, he did! 

No, we’re not to automatic response, yet, but he did the thing at the right time! (For reference: we didn’t get to that with Yaha.) 

My thoughts in that moment? Maybe the miracle of this is a prosthetic instead of the crutch I was assuming I would get. Could there really be a prosthetic for this? Could I actually, truly, know I would make it across an intersection on my own? Could living in my own house without fearing to use the oven maybe not be its own unicorn?

Then again, those would’ve been my thoughts if he didn’t look at me right after with the look I’ve come to know as, ‘are you really watching, Hooman? Or could I get away with taking something I’m not supposed to?’ 

On that note…

• Still working through feisty-growing-feelings and pushing boundaries. But…
• We had a grooming day. In one sitting. Bath, hair drier, brushed, face shaved, ears trimmed, claws trimmed, feet shaved (NICELY! Like, you can see the individual toes), and brushed again. Took us about three hours, but it was in one sitting. And without [much] fighting! May sound ridiculous–as this will become a weekly/biweekly thing, and he’s still just a smol boy, but it’s the first time and, like I said. Small victories.
• He lost his first two teeth. Nothing big, but… that happened. 😁
• “Visiting the garden” has stopped being a necessary part of potty breaks.
• He let us finish a puzzle without him [almost] stealing a piece indefinitely. 
• He’s learning to settle down on the floor and just chill without puppy feelings going ‘must do something’!

• Hooman forgot to take the treats on an outing and he still did amazing! Didn’t know that was possible. (Forgetting the treats OR puppies doing well in spite of it.)
• Heel is becoming a Thing on walks! 🥳

And… yeah, that’s all I can really think of. I know it may sound silly, but, yes, a lot of the time it is this easy for us to be unable to stop smiling. Because standing on six legs is one thing–being able to unwaveringly trust all of them is another.

Love you all! 

Happy Memorial Day and thank you to all military families for your sacrifice. We don’t take it for granted!

💜You were not born to fail💜

Lauryn

And Cor! 🐩