By Celeste Erlach of and what a Mom!
Bitches.
Yeah, you heard me right. You’re all a bunch of bitches.
Before you gather the pitchforks, I’ll admit I am too.
And seriously, what is our deal? Why do we have to be so effing mean to each other? The gossip, the hate, the jealousy. It’s cruel and ridiculous. It needs to stop.
I’ll never forget one time when I was a snotty little pre-teen, my cousin was making me so angry. I can’t remember why or what she even said, but I was infused with hate at that moment. We were standing by a pool and before I could even take a moment to compose myself, I lunged at her in a fit of fury and shoved her into the pool. Yes, she could swim, but my point is that what I did was messed up. Violent, in fact.
Today, I don’t go around shoving people. I promise. But I’ve done a few really stupid, mean things as an adult. I’ve gossiped about others. I’ve purposefully not invited people to events. I get jealous, and contentious, and mean-spirited at the drop of a hat. And it’s just wrong and gross, and I hate myself for it.
Because you know what’s worse than being a mean bitch? Being on the receiving end. I’ve been there too, plenty of times. I’ve been bitched out, falsely blamed, lied to, and burned. And that hurts. Especially because these other women are friends. These women are moms and sisters and daughters just like me. These women are professionals, and citizens, and caretakers, and lovers just like me. We are all living day to day, trying to make the best of our situations and be our best selves. We’re trying to be good moms, and make money, and spend time with our husbands, and get a workout now and then. We’ve got similar goals, similar dreams, and similar challenges.
Why aren’t we out there supporting each other instead of going head to head? Why do we see this as a competition instead of a team sport?
Yesterday I heard that two of my friends are fighting and my heart dropped. Nobody has room in their life for hate. There’s no time for that shit, ladies. We’ve got one life here. One life and none of us knows how long. If I only have a set number of days on this earth, I’m going to spend them doing things I love, spending time with people I love, emitting love everywhere I go and to everyone I meet. Call me Pollyanna, fine. But you’re just name-calling then, and that’s mean too.
It’s time to end the bad blood. Let’s tell Taylor and Katy to kiss and makeup and we can all follow suit. I don’t have room in my life for an enemy, but I always have room for more friends. Don’t you? And if we can all just cut out the bullshit backstabbing, gossiping, hate-mongering actions of our past, maybe we can forge a future of kindness and support. Now that’s what I call a #tribe.
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About the Author
Celeste is a mom to two boys under four, and loves to write about the good, bad, and the “what the heck am I doing??” parts of motherhood. She is also a marketing professional, which has armed her with bountiful experience in cleaning up poop and managing temper tantrums.