The Check In Text: “You Good?”

Sometimes, all it takes is two words.

“You good?”

No frills. No punctuation gymnastics. Just a quick tap on the shoulder of someone’s life, asking if their world is still spinning okay. And more often than not, the reply is just as simple:

“Yeah, I’m good.”

Or maybe, “Not really, but I will be.”

It’s the kind of message that doesn’t need backstory. It’s not fishing for details or demanding explanations. It’s a love language between people who’ve been in each other’s lives long enough to understand that sometimes the loudest kind of care is the quietest.

I have a friend like that. Been in my life for over fifteen years. We’ve talked every day for months at a time, and then gone radio silent for just as long; no tension, no questions, no shift in energy. And when the silence breaks, it’s never awkward. No one’s offended. No one’s owed an apology. It’s just,

“Hey, you good?”

“Yeah. Let me tell you about these hose’”

That’s not just friendship. That’s rhythm.

That’s trust.

That’s the kind of loyalty you can’t fake or fast-track.

We’ve got history. Not just the kind you talk about, but the kind that lives in how you don’t have to talk about everything. The years have taught us how to let each other breathe without assuming distance means disconnection. We don’t keep score. We just check in.

And that’s the difference, really.

Some friendships need constant contact to stay alive. And that’s okay. But then there are others that thrive in the space between, where the bond is built so solid that time doesn’t shake it. It just pauses it. Until the next

“You good?”

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So if you ever get that text from someone you haven’t heard from in a while, don’t overthink it. Don’t question the gap. Just know: someone thought about you. Someone cared enough to send a nudge instead of a paragraph. That little message might not look like much, but it carries a whole lot of us.

And sometimes, that’s all we need to keep going.

I Remain.