About two months ago, I was standing in the bus next to a pretty big guy. We were both holding onto the metal railings when the bus jerked to a sudden stop. I managed to stay on my feet but the guy lost his balance and flailed in my direction.

Unfortunately, when he landed, he also stomped right on my big toe. I was wearing covered shoes that day but they were soft so they didn’t offer any protection whatsoever. Getting stomped hurt like hell so my reflexive “OW!” came out pretty loud. (In fact, I might have yelled it out. ) Anyway, he apologized like the decent guy he was and I went on my merry way when it was my stop. Merrily limping, that is.

The pain was pretty bad, but still I was surprised to find fresh blood pooling under the toenail when I got home. (It looked pretty gross, so of course I showed it off to a few friends the next day. But that’s another story.)

Two months since that bus ride and the blood is still there. Mocking me. Its brown and dried and will stay under my toenail until it grows out. Of course, I did a quick search online, to discover that this “growing out process” might take one year. If you’ve stumbled onto this post looking for helpful tips because you’ve also got dried blood under your toenail, then I am sorry. Because there aren’t any solutions.

My advice is simple, learn to love that brown smudge under your toenail. It’s a part of you now, and will be for some time. That bit of desiccated hemoglobin tells a story. And it sets you apart from the people who have no blood under their nails. You are unique, my friend, so learn to like it.

If not, try nail polish.