I have fibromyalgia, which is a chronic pain condition, and it often acts up my hands. Today before heading off to work it was acting up, and my engagement ring was just too much to bear. It felt like my finger was going to break under the weight of it. So I took my ring off and left it at home, locked in my desk drawer for safety.
When I got to work, one of my employees, Steph, noticed I wasn't wearing my ring. She basically flipped out. She assumed that the engagement was over. I told her that everything was fine and dandy, just that my fibro was acting up and I couldn't handle it. She still kept running on the assumption that it meant something big. She believes that the ring IS the commitment, and that taking it off symbolizes the end of a relationship. A few months ago another employee, Hadley, lost her wedding ring down the shower drain and went several days without it before a plumber got it, and Steph literally cried and told Hadley that she wasn't married anymore.
Then over the day several of my regulars made comments on it, wondering if everything was okay. I'm touched that they care that much, but I don't like talking about my fibro that much, because I get tired of the "But you don't LOOK sick" comments. Today I even got a "Is he sure he wants to marry someone with a disease" comment, which nearly set me off! It was so rude!
I almost want to put a big "OUR ENGAGEMENT IS F-CKING FINE" sign out front. I'm normally not very snarky, but I can be when I'm pushed, and today I was pushed pretty damn far. I physically cannot wear my ring all the damn time. Besides having fibro, I'm a baker, and if I wore my ring all the time at work it would get all sorts of dirty and gross. I'm thinking I'm going to invest in a chain so I can wear it as a necklace just to get some peace and quiet!