Gossip can be harmless, but it can also be poisonous and cruel. Now, one mom is speaking out and sharing a moving story to explain why women — and particularly fellow moms — shouldn't gossip about one another but should band together and support one another instead.
Australian mom of four Constance Hall, who runs the blog Like a Queen, recently shared the story of an unexpected encounter with another parent outside her kids' school.
Initially, Constance spotted the stranger and judged her based on her put-together appearance. But she eventually learned some things about the other woman that changed her mind — and made her want to speak out against gossiping moms.
It should go without saying that women ought to support each other. But Constance's story serves as a great example of why this is the case.
Scroll through to read Constance's story and her important reminder!
Thumbnail Photo: Facebook / Constance Hall
[H/T: BoredPanda]
Constance shared her story in a Facebook post on August 23, 2017.
She wrote:
There was this women [sic] at school pick up everyday.
I don't know what it was about her, she drove a nice car, held her head high and always had a blow dry.
She spoke in a posh accent, wore nice (non stained) clothes and barely ever spoke to me.
There I was, with my t*ts out breast feeding my babies, smelling like dried milk, matted hair, a puffy face from a morning in tears, no shoes and a partial bogan accent…
It was like she was put on this earth to amplify my insecurities.
So I did what a lot of women do and I tried to instigate a "chat" about her to another mum, partly out of intrigue and partly hoping to make my feral self feel better.
But this other mums advice hit me with a big reality check.
"Talk to the woman not about her"
So one day I decided to talk to her.
I sat next to her on the brick retainer wall outside the kindy room.
I found out she is an ex addict and holds AA meetings to help out other addicted women that want sobriety, I found out she struggles with her marriage, her kids and her health just like the rest of us. I found out that she is a million things, snobby not being one of them.
She is one of the most inspiring women I know.
Turns out I have a confident exterior too, turns out that while sitting there hating my life without the confidence to talk to these gorgeous mums, they didn’t have the confidence to talk to me, they thought I was too free too relaxed, that I thought I was too cool.
And that mum, is now one of my best friends, we b*tch about our men together, our kids and we laugh all the time.
So now that I’m at a new school, I know that a lot of folks have their opinions on me these days and unfortunately a lot of the gossip has gotten back to me, I’d like to remind mums everywhere to…
Talk to the woman not about her.
Clearly, Constance's story struck a chord with other moms. Since she posted the tale, it has been shared over 7,600 times and has gotten over 2,000 comments.
What do you think of Constance's wise words?
If you love what she had to say, don't forget to SHARE this story on Facebook!
