My dad: *playfully smacks my hip as I pass in the hall from the bathroom*
Me: *immediately thrown off balance and smacks into the wall* ow.
Dad: oh my god I didn't mean to hurt you! Are you okay?
Me: *with chronic pain and balance issues among other things*
Me: *slow blink* dad, I hurt just existing. I hurt when I stand too much, sit too much, walk too much or lay down too much. I hurt when I eat, when I don't eat, and sometimes when I breathe. I exist in a state of constant yet fluctuating pain, so it never really settles into the background and I have to plan every little thing around it. Do I need my cane today? Will I need it later? How available is the nearest bathroom? How sturdy do I need my shoes to be? Is it cold? The cold makes everything worse. Will I need to go up stairs? I can't have that for lunch, I'll end up on the toilet for the next hour. That? Yeah, that hurt, and it'll probably hurt more later, but being in pain is not new or alarming to me. If I stopped everything every time I was in pain I'd never get anything done. It's not a big deal and we move on.
Dad: ... you know that doesn't make me feel better, right?
Me: yeah, but I think sometimes you need a reminder.