So, a thing happened yesterday.
Context first: I was told by my doctor two weeks or so ago to stay at home for a week to rest. It was because my MCTD was acting up and I was feeling fatigued. It was mainly due to the weather which has been very, very hot lately. I just got back to work last Wednesday and well, people around here have been concerned. I work in an institution where everyone knows everyone, it's a small group that considers itself like a family of sorts, so word got around fast that I hadn't been feeling well. And well, a week of absence was hard to ignore.
Now, yesterday, my boss came up to me with a pad of paper and asked me if I could write down the medications I was taking and I think also the name of my illness. My Boss and I have gotten to that point in our professional relationship where I was comfortable with asking for clarification, etc. and my boss was also very open to that. So I asked what it was for and he said that people were concerned and were curious about what happened to me and how I was coping. As I was sitting there in a moment of extreme indecision, he asked me, "Do you want them to know?" and it was then that I said, "No." And he backed off and actually seemed relieved that I didn't offer up the information.
This morning when he saw me, he apologized for asking me about my health the way he did yesterday. He understood that it was my business what I wanted to share when it came to the particulars of this thing that I had and he also told the others not to come into my office to interview me about it.
And again I was struck by how lucky I am that my Boss is protective of me in his own way though he also gives me some space to think for myself about things that I am willing to share with others here. And now I think people here were being nosy, definitely, but they also meant well but I didn't really think I would like that much attention being given to something very personal like my health.
I appreciate the concern and I feel warmed by their regard; I just don't think I could deal well with the fussing that would come part and parcel with it.
