Well, despite the title, I don't think I can do it. I mean, I think I'd need to go back into therapy to figure out the intricacies of our relationship. It's just weird. Always been way too intimate, and not just on my end. Maybe because we're close to the same age, both over educated mothers of eight-year-olds, maybe because we have the same taste in clothes. I'm sure Freud would have much more to say about it but I'd rather not go there.
Suffice it to say: we've been swapping occasional emails. In a roundabout way I asked her if she'd like to get coffee sometime, and in a much more direct way she said yes. But neither one of us is making the move to say, hey, would this day in March work for you? And in the meantime, I got a package from her office yesterday, containing a onesie akin to those adorable shirts from Old Navy that say Old Navy somewhere on them, which, as A said, if I didn't like her (and didn't know that she is anything but an arrogant, my-job-let's-me-play-god kind of doctor) would be radically offensive. Which was followed up by a look-forward-to-see-you email.
So do I put Tiny Boy in this onesie, send her an electronic picture by way of thank you (?!) and then ask her when would be a good time to see her?
I feel like I did when I was 19 and not sure how to ask someone out on a date.
From what you say, I would definitely send the pic and follow up. It sounds like you guys really clicked on a lot of levels and it was hard to maintain "typical" doctor/patient boundaries at times. But it seemed like a really supportive, positive situation to me. And you could be awesome friends!
ReplyDeleteHoly crap, it sounds like you're 19 and negotiating a first date! Kind of fun in an anxiety producing way.
ReplyDeleteOlive, that's exactly it!
ReplyDeleteYeah, Kristina, we could be. I've often thought that if we met in some other context--like her kid and my kid were in the same class--we'd hit it off. But I also feel like she's known me at my worst/most vulnerable... and I don't know what a post-RE relationship might look like (not to mention how either of us would have time for it!)
I agree. Send her the photo and a couple of days/times you are free. Sometimes the best of friends are the ones who saw you at your worst and wanted to become your friend anyway. As a person who has had their fair share of intestinal illnesses in the field, I know that some of my closest colleagues/friends are the ones that helped me laugh between bouts of throwing up before they even knew how to spell my name. Not really the same scenario, I know, but I think there are enough similar elements to make it relevant.
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