Fourth day in the belt. I'm at our shared computer during my relatively short belting break. Just two hours unbelted (and closely supervised) today, down from four yesterday and six the day before. My body is handling it okay. A little soreness and redness, but desitin and talcum powder take care of that with no problem. Much as it irks me to say that Tobbe was right about anything, it was a good idea to scale down breaks over several days and not go full-force up front. The relief my skin feels at release, and the extent to which it heals itself in a few hours of freedom, makes a difference. I can feel the beginnings of deeper soreness, but I think that would only concern me if I was wearing longer than a week. I only have three days to go! Last night Pru and I went grocery shopping. I figured I would take it fine, but it turned out it was kind of unnerving to go out in public while wearing a belt. It wasn't a huge thing, just a trip to the neighborhood market, but I was constantly wondering if my slight bow-legged stance or kind of awkward walk would give me away. And all this made me a lot more aware of the fact I was the only person in the place wearing the equivalent of a medieval interrogation device that she can't take off. It's like, imagine walking through a supermarket while wearing handcuffs, except absolutely nobody sees them and everyone assumes your state is just normal? That's what it was like. Pru and I were totally reversed from our usual selves. I take up a lot of space and don't care who knows it. Pru loves that and enjoys hanging on my arm in what she imagines it is to be a compliant version of housewife femininity. This time she was taking up the space and I was leaning on her arm for comfort. Jesus, I really can see how long-term wearers get so attached to their keyholders and eager to please them. Clinging to Pru made me feel safer and less exposed. I'm glad we're still wearing masks in my county, because it felt better to feel a little anonymous. If any of my friends had seen me holding Pru's arm like the girlfriend in a horror movie, I'd never hear the end of it! Afterwards, a very nice early dinner by sunset on the patio cafe a few blocks down from our building. I was a lot less self-conscious while I was sitting there than I was walking around. It felt good to spend some quiet time outside with Pru. We have not done that much in the last year, and I've only been to an outdoor cafe a couple of times since vaccines started. Overall, this is still a worthwhile experiment, though I'm eager to get out of this thing and put Pru back where she belongs!
