Our Own Secret Language

It’s the club you never asked to be a part of. It’s the global family and community that has your back. It’s a secret language that you didn’t even realize you understood.

What do we mean when we say “I’m good”?

What do those words, "I'm good," actually mean when they are coming from an eczema or TSW warrior? It means that we are incredibly considerate and know that you don’t have an extra hour to listen to us go on about how we couldn’t sleep last night even though we took all the precautions! And now the sheets are bloody and we just washed them two days ago. And there it is, another small tear in the sheets. Great. Another cost to add to the list. And since I’m running late, I’ll just have to deal with this mini sandbox later and hope that I don’t come home to a line of new roomies AKA ants. I was able to hop in the shower but now the moisturizer is barely doing it’s job and the all-over-body dryness is obviously bothering me as evidenced by my left hand surreptitiously scratching that annoying and slightly oozy patch right above my clavicle and the unsightly evidence gathering right next to my shoe. *clears throat as I scatter my DNA on the navy blue company carpet* “Yeah, like I said, I’m good!”

What do we mean when we say “I’m tired”?

We don't mean "I'm tired" in the “oh it’s been a long day!” or even that “it’s been a crazy week!” kind of way, but in the sense that we’ve been tired since day one when our fingers started moving in that friction and frustration-filled way. How those strong, purpose-filled instruments have brought us exhaustion, elation, and confusion in just a manner of strokes. They continue to tangle our confusion on a frantic journey over different and varied terrain and textures. Massaging these tired muscles yet tearing apart every surface they come into contact with. And our fingers are also exhausted from travel, not exempt from the effects of this itchy hell. Self-inflicted wounds find you at the least opportune of times, in order to voice the words that you are already feeling, as you let go of an extra juicy wedge of lemon. “I’m tired.”

What do we mean when we say “I can help with that!”?

I can totally do this. But dammit sleeve why did you have to rub on that patch you know how sensitive that is. Great. Now I’m thinking about my skin. The whole point of helping others is to distract myself from this endless itching. Oh wait, you need help tonight after our shift is over? It’s for a good cause. Dammit. I mean, of course I’m happy to help and I’m glad that it’s for a good cause. It’s just that tonight my roommate is hooking up with his Tinderfella so I can finally go to town scratching at my pleasure and running around naked. But that’s going to be cut short because of - “No worries - I can help with that!”