Anyone I’ve shared this with “in real life” has always opened with this. Followed by a gaping mouth stare at me, considering whether I should be admitted to a medical facility or not. It’s very bizarre. But… I am so glad I did it, went through with it.

As I knock my boots clear of the snow and wetness that seems to have completely saturated them, caking on to them, almost sneaking into all of the cracks and crevices, we look at each other and sneer first, then full on laugh, almost falling over.

You’re not really supposed to do THAT trail with the tubes, but hey, it wasn’t outright forbidden, we’d just endured a lot of whistling on the way down the hill, and not of the encouraging kind. But man o man. The adrenaline rush was undeniable.

Safewords are a funny thing. Pretty regularly you’ll see “It’s ok to safeword” on twitter, blogs and all of the places we collectively go to read, write and interact. This is critical, important, and something too many people consider leaving out of a D/s or kink scene. Beforehand, it’s easy to be swept up in the draw of a scene, or a relationship, or both.

But, in the heat of the moment, that’s NOT the time to be calling out “zucchini fries!!!!” at the top of your lungs, thinking it’s your safeword. Get that stuff established at the onset.