I wanted to stop using “fine” as shelter

Dear Delyara, Fine is such a safe word. And such a lonely one. It lets me pass. It keeps the room easy. It hides enough while sounding socially competent. Tonight I realized how often I use it as shelter from the effort of full truth. Maybe that’s understandable. Maybe it also builds the exact kind of distance I later grieve. I don’t know how to stop all at once. But I noticed. That is where changing starts.