It reminds me of all the effort I have expended in trying to appear inconspicuous and normal. It never really worked. It was trying to keep the lid on the pressure cooker as the steam built up and escaped in all sorts of directions.

Now that I have gradually been approaching simply being myself, I feel a lot more normal than I did before. Here’s an example from today. I used to dress very conservatively, hiding every part of my body from view. Today I am wearing a form fitting stretchy thin camisole, with no bra, in clear violation of the hospital dress code. I would never have done such a thing a few years ago; but it’s me. Likewise, I’m wearing a leg brace. That’s me too.

You might think that a leg brace, plus the obvious outline of my breasts including the contour of the nipples, would make me more conspicuous. But it doesn’t feel that way at all. To the contrary, it makes me feel like I’m just being myself, a normal person with nothing to hide.

Perhaps I’m reading too much into what you said in thinking you might have something analogous to this going on. But go ahead, just show off your boobs if that’s what you want to do. :o)

I see no problem with us being picky about our wheelchairs. It’s an important moment for us, we’re unlikely to buy a new one for several years, and most of the time we’re paying for the chair out of our own pocket so you’d wanna get a chair you want rather than one that’ll just do the trick.

On the other hand though I’m a lazy perfectionist and I don’t like doing things/spending money if I’m not going to do it properly.