How do I put the Genie back in the bottle?

Sorry - I couldn't think of anywhere ele to put this....

... but I just came into some information, by accident, that I wish I hadn't! And I don' know how to put the genie back in the bottle.

We live on the top floor of an old, converted Georgian town house. The garden backs onto the garden of a house on the next street, which has been converted into offices. It has a great big conservatory at the back, but a high wall all round, so you can't see into the conservatory from the street.

Well, the offices belong to a counselling service, where they do counselling for various things like alcohol dependency, smoking, sex addiction etc etc. They hold group therapy sessions in the conservatory. Obviously, people's privacy is protected from onlookers in the street, but not from the people on the top floors of the houses opposite!

Anyway, we were all sitting at the dining table the other night eating our teas, and there was a group therapy session going on. Suddenly my daughter says, "Here, Mum, that is my history teacher!"

And I have to face the woman at parent's night on the 17th. It's going to be very difficult to behave normally. I have no idea what the poor woman is getting counselling for, but I wish I hadn't found out!

Is it possible at all to put a genie back in the bottle? Has anybody else ever been handed unwanted information like this, and if so, how did you cope with it?

Grouse, whenever such unwanted information has fallen into my hands, I tend to mentally create the image of a box, put the unwanted information into the 'box' and put it at the back of a dark cupboard in my mind where I can forget about it - much as I would an unwelcome gift.

I personally would say nothing to her, if I had been the patient in the clinic I wouldn't want someone to acknowledge I'd been there, she's probably dealing with enough 'stuff' anyway, without the worry she's been spotted by a parent. She may already have an idea that some pupils live in the area and that's probably stressed her enough as she goes in and out of the clinic.

So basically, imo, on parents' evening, look her straight in the eye and try to not talk about historic figures with drink and drug problems....I'm sure that if she's the type that wants everyone to know she's in therapy she'll shoehorn it into any and every conversation anyway.

I hope this is some help,

Alfie x