“Don’t worry, I’m fine.” That’s my default.

Broken ribs. Multiple concussions. Hit by a car. Twice. Fractured shin. ER visit for a knife wound. Mountain biking incident. Catching on fire in elementary school.

I’ll never admit to anything other than “fine.” Part of it is a deep-seated belief that it can always be worse. The other part of it is an aversion to being perceived as weak.

I get in trouble for it. My friends know that if I’m declaring “fine,” that I’m probably bleeding internally or about to lose a limb… You know, every day life.

My “new year resolution” is to have more adjectives to describe pain. Sounds weird, but I have friends who actually want to know how I’m doing, not just how I want them to perceive me as being… “Fine.”