A Glimpse Into Our Past

I wrote this post several years ago on my old blog. I decided to share it so those who don’t know us might get a glimpse of where we came from before our Covid crash. This particular post was a day where the stars appeared to align. ( I refer to B as Dexter because about 2 years into our dynamic I ended up with contact dermatitis on my back end. Since that time my skin remains very susceptible to bleeding. It doesn’t hurt any more than it would normally and I don’t scar. It’s just a regular occurrence here now).

The Beating, The Beautiful and The Beast.

I was in a different mental space before the punishment even began.  Barney told me to go down into our storage/laundry room, strip and wait.  This is pretty standard procedure here.  I knew I was getting punished and then he was going to reset.  The latter having been pushed aside over the summer, sadly the former had not.  When I went into what I refer to as the back room, I saw his/my? cuffs dangling from the rafters.  Okay this was new.  Immediately I thought of my arm, ( I have tendinitis and I am very wary of doing things that might give me set backs).  I had to evaluate in my own head/heart what my actually feelings were concerning this. Deciding that I was probably being fearful yet the possibility of trying to use that as a cover for control, I opted to just go with it.  After all if I couldn’t manage any longer my husband would release me.

I don’t recall his demeanor when he came in.  I suppose that would indicate that he wasn’t much different than he normally is.  He was all business strapping my arms up and my ankles, shoulder width a part, ( that is typical as I have a tendency to flip up my feet~ yes the soles have been caned because of it, but damn, I’m not good at remembering in the moment).  Being restrained, even if the main reason is for safety has an effect on my mindset and my control, as I am sure it does for many.  Truthfully  I could unhook my ‘cuffs’with little difficulty, with the flick of my thumbs, but it is the symbolism more than anything

Barney started wailing on me, with what I assumed was one of his canes.  I fair much better if I don’t know what he is going to use.  I have a tendency to see, absorb and then control my pain because I know what is coming.  I KNOW, so not the point.  I am a work in progress when it comes to embracing it.  Before I continue, I should point out for those who haven’t been here since the beginning, I am a bit of a bleeder.  It isn’t that I am seriously injured, it is just that I have two spots the size of dimes on either cheek that tend to always bleed.  They heal so you see nothing, yet they are right back again with more impact.  They actually don’t hurt at all. Though the blood running down my leg CAN be a bit of a distraction, for ME no  He did the usual spiel about why I was there and how he was tired of it…etc… etc.  I am not being dismissive, just illustrating that it wasn’t out of the ordinary.  I on the other hand was not reacting the way I normally do.  I have a couple of  classic Willie responses, remorse being the IDEAL one, the other is anger. The  anger is mostly due to the pain.  He is very fond of traveling down my legs during any kind of spanking. He claims it is due to lack of real estate. While I think that is sweet, I know it is just because he is MEAN…LOL .  This day he was very close to the back of my knees.  You know the part where those cordy things are?  I will admit any other day I would have probably freaked! This day, I said, ” please be careful of…” Anger never entered the picture, um nor did remorse, but never mind that..LOL

(insert more lecture/beating/and dabbing of primary blood source with wipes….)

He then moved on to his reset.  Canes (thankfully) are not generally used during resets.  Don’t breathe a sigh of relief for me however~ he changes implements but the reset isn’t any less severe than the punishment physically. As the reset began I became even more aware of myself.   I began trying to concentrate on what was happening, my body, my pain, his words (though that can be difficult).  I had just taken a shower, and my hair was still dripping.  My body was sweating,more like glistening…(always the lady).  I could feel the water and or sweat running down my back, into my cleft.  I could also feel the blood running down my legs, but you know, not as peaceful of a sensation, so I tried to ignore that.  My arms long since forgotten.  I was relaxing yet feeling the impact.  I wasn’t drifting away, nor was I even thinking about subspace. I wouldn’t have made it there in all likelihood as every once and a while he’d land a strike that had my eyes bugging out and my breath being sucked in.  Gone was the moving around.  I was suspended, not literally.  I was weightless.  In that moment for whatever reason, instead of the snorting beast I can normally feel like during a ‘beating’, I felt beautiful.  I can’t explain why, but I did

It was during this time that Barney began to speak to me.  He began saying things I never thought my husband would say, so much so I never even consciously WISHED he’d say them.  He told me I was beautiful restrained like that before him.  He told me he not only wants my submission, he needs it, he desires it.  It allows him to be who he truly is.  (Now under any other circumstance, I would have said/thought ‘come again? Who are you?’ or I would have cried).  I just took this all in with the sensations that were going on.  Not sure why I feel I should mention this, but I wasn’t feeling sexual at all (though that has happened countless times after a reset).  I was feeling very sensual however~ and for a woman who is about as sensual as Sally Field that is saying a lot!  

I was not entering subspace.  I will admit to dancing around it I believe, but there was no let down because I didn’t enter it.  In that moment I was existing, but living all at the same time.  I was no longer there for me and my mindset, I was there for him.  Truthfully I didn’t ever believe that day would come.  My submission would have been rated at its all time high that day, and it didn’t mentally or emotionally cost me a thing.

Concerned about the speed in which the blood was flowing, Barney informed me that he would have to switch back to the cane.  I slowly shook my head, in a pleading manner.  He agreed.  The cane might have changed everything that day, or maybe not.  I do associate it with punishments (though they are not the exclusive implement for that, it only shows up during those times).

He unhooked me, wrapped me in a robe and held me.  Truthfully he held me up. 

 This is where my mind became very confused.  I knew I hadn’t entered subspace, yet the similarities were shockingly there.  Something I had never experienced before, without subspace.  I began to wonder in my mind if I was constructing my responses and they were not genuine.  

I was once high on mushrooms with a group of friends in my early 20s.  Because I was apparently the runt of the litter that night I was only given half of what everyone else took.  They were completely ‘gone’ . I had the ability that night to embrace being high but I could also try and concentrate on staying sober-like having a foot in both worlds.  This is how I can best describe that day.  I decided to focus on the high.

Barney carried me upstairs, sounds so romantic doesn’t it?  Sorry ladies, fairy tale illusions about to be shattered,I was over his shoulder.  He placed me on the bathroom floor and for some reason turned me around so my back was to the vanity mirror.  For a brief second I was ‘sober’.  In my head I heard my voice yell ” Oh My GOD!  You look like an extreme photo from Fetlife!”  I said in my head, because I was no where near ready or able to actually use my voice. He then left me there with instructions because he had to clean up his area before anyone came home.

I started to shiver.  Slowly I walked toward the tub and began to fill it.  Even slower still I eased myself down.  All the while I was questioning my reality.   I sat there in a now slightly orange tinted tub of water, noticing the copper smell of blood. I questioned how I could I not be a masochist, if I felt such calmness after all of that?  Thoughts came and left my head quickly, yet slowly.  I know that doesn’t make sense.  

My eyes felt huge, and I felt very childlike….vulnerable, 

yet ….yet…. I don’t know the right word.  I felt unearthed.  I felt free, though not over the top. 

 I . 

just. 

was. 

 …and it was magnificent

Barney returned and helped me into bed.  I can’t say I was exhausted like I normally am after a ‘beating’.  I was , but I wasn’t.  My voice had yet to return, so I just lay there for a while.  I am unsure if I fell asleep.

Much later we went out, walking was extremely difficult.  However it wasn’t the worst I have ever looked, after I was cleaned up that is.  That shot nearer to the back of my knees was VERY prominent, yet no where near where I thought it would be.

The next day I had to ask Barney some questions.  I wanted, no needed to know how he felt about the day before.  He again expressed concern about the speed in which the blood was streaming yet it wasn’t enough to stop him.  He told me he didn’t preplan saying any of those things.  I could tell because he has a tendency to sound rote when he pre plans.  He informed me it came from the heart.  He said he saw that I was ‘in the zone’ and he quite easily could have joined me ‘in that zone’ yet he was too afraid to embrace that for fear of me becoming hurt.  Again words I never thought in a million years I would hear from my husband, and an experience I never dreamed of having, or even desired I suppose, beyond curiosity.

I expressed to him that I was concerned.  He knew right away what I was referring to ( another first of sorts).  He assured me that he knew I would be needing more.  I have often said I can’t be cut off could turkey after something intense.  I need to be weaned off or let down gently.  He told me it wasn’t going to happen this time.  Well life does have a tendency to get in the way.  I am fine with dealing with that, provided once the interruption subsides, we are RIGHT back on track.

A few days later he said to me, while his experience was obviously different than mine, and he had tried to project himself into my feelings, he didn’t think he really understood, until that day.  He said he felt his version of a drop, but not the way I most likely did.  He then gave me a mini reset.  This time he said it was every bit as much for him as it was for me.  He reassured me that he had me and he wasn’t going to coast.

Have things been clear sailing since then?  Not exactly. I think the connection from the previous reset casts a huge shadow over us.  I am NOT expecting to experience that every time, however the fear of what is to come and where we will end up after because of our experience  is VERY real.

I was profoundly moved by the words Barney said that day.  Physicality not withstanding, I ended up in a different place because of those words. Part of me believes that I put more weight and significance on that day than he does.  Of course this is causing all sorts of needless insecurity on my part.  Naturally I am going to place more weight on the experience than he did. He was expressing what he already felt and knew.  I was the one who was enlightened that day not him.  He accepted who he is, and I was ‘blindsided’ in a good way by it.  That day will forever be etched in my mind, and not because of my endorphin induced ‘coma’. For him the gradual and painful process of accepting who he is was spoken out loud that day, but it wasn’t a shocking experience because he had long since known.

I have contemplated writing this post of a couple of weeks now.  First off I was unsure how write my experience down in a way that gave it justice.  (I am still unsure if I managed that.) In the end there seemed to be more reasons to write as opposed to not.  A large reason to share was a few of you.  Many of you have followed along with our adventure since the very start, or close to it.  Many of you have also experienced the insecurity of wondering when or if your husband will ever feel comfortable in his ‘role’ (though I hate that terminology in this case).  I can’t guarantee that it will ever happen, but I wanted to share with you that it could very well.  Trust me when I tell you we were on the brink of ruin not that long ago, Barney and I.  I felt lost and I didn’t truly believe he had it in him to ‘find’ me, or even want to search for me.  He did.

Another reason I decided to attempt this post was for the few of you I have talked to about your changing dynamics.  As you know we started out under the very large umbrella known as Dd.  Actually for years I said we were Dd lite.  Never in a million years would I have pictured myself, my needs, or my relationship where it currently is now.  Nor do I have any preconceived notions of what tomorrow will bring, aside from struggle.  That is almost a guarantee! lol  I understand when you feel like you are not Dd , you are not D/s, you are not BSDM yet you are ALL of those things too. And that is okay.  I like to think of it as a buffet.  Take what you want from whatever appeals to you, and maybe try something new.  If you don’t like it, leave it.  Just make sure you have enough on your plate to feel satisfied.  And if tomorrow you decide that maybe you should have tried the sauteed greens, go back an get them.  Nothing is written in stone, as we are forever changing.

Perhaps the biggest reason for me writing this post was for Barney and myself.  I needed Barney to be brought in, as best he could.  I also needed to write this so next week,next month potentially next year, I can remember where I was…after I am somewhere else.

*Fellow blogging friends at the time encouraged me to write this post because of their transition as well.That is the reason for the last few paragraphs. I just decided to leave them in here.

At the time B was in a push- pull relationship with the idea that he liked to cause me pain. I was the one who asked for a change in our marriage and he ‘complied’. He struggled with many aspects during his growth to what he refers to as his darkness within ( so dramatic 😉). He did and still does struggle with coming to terms with something he didn’t recognize about himself. What further complicated things at the time of his discovery was the area of blogland we were in. Many were so supportive , but hardly anyone wrote about the things we were going through. He felt somewhat wrong because of it for a long time. But I won’t speak for him. All I do have to say is thank God for true friends because I was able to comprehend that his need to hurt me wasn’t personal and my willingness didn’t mean I was a masochist ( not that there is anything wrong with being a masochist).