Were my desktop PC working, I’d have edited this pic in PhotoShop to crop out Luka’s *girdle* and focus your attention instead on his sweet face. Yet, maybe showing you the whole scene helps to account for the goofy look on his face, I don’t know. I’m not sure why I didn’t think to take off his *no-pull harness* before we started swimming lessons, but once it did occur to me we were both already good and wet. Cedar Creek in the Pine Barrens proved to be a great place to practice, with a gentle current, water that’s shallow and clean, but cold!

gir·dle noun, verb, -dled, -dling.
–noun 1. a lightweight undergarment, worn esp. by women, often partly or entirely of elastic or boned, for supporting and giving a slimmer appearance to the abdomen, hips, and buttocks.
2. a belt, cord, sash, or the like, worn about the waist.
3. anything that encircles, confines, or limits.
4. Jewelry. the edge or narrow band between the upper and lower facets of a gem.
5. Anatomy. the bony framework that unites the upper or lower extremities to the axial skeleton.
6. Architecture. an ornamental band, esp. one surrounding the shaft of a column.
7. a ring made about a tree trunk, branch, etc., by removing a band of bark.

–verb (used with object)
8. to encircle with a belt; gird.
9. to encompass; enclose; encircle.
10. to move around (something or someone) in a circle.
11. to cut away the bark and cambium in a ring around (a tree, branch, etc.).
12. Jewelry. round

-from Dictionary.com

Calling the harness a *girdle* is something of an inside joke with my husband and I, as well as a sweet reminder of our Buddy who passed away this summer. I used to make him wear a sheepskin-covered seatbelt harness when we rode together in the car, and we always referred to it as a *girdle*. Buddy mostly hated it, but it helped to calm him in the car while doing nothing for his figure!