Just zip it

"What was the most important lesson you learned OUTSIDE of school? Write about it."


I should have just kept my mouth shut.

Twice.

The first time I learned this lesson was about 10 years ago. I have never been a big gossip. If you tell me something, I was never one to pass it on. Your secrets were safe with me.

Then I had a brain lapse. A good friend of mine, we will call her Jane, was having some really big problems. She talked to me about it. I was trying to help her. She needed a lot of help and a lot of support.

Hubs and I went to our other friends house who also knew Jane. We talked a little about her and I said a little too much. About a week later we were talking to another friend who knew all involved and he said something to Hubs about Jane that only our other friends would have known because I told them.

I felt sick. SICK to my stomach. Who was I to talk about Jane and her personal struggles. It wasn't for me to share, it was for me to keep. I seriously felt sick about it for a month. Well, actually, I still feel bad about it. But I learned my lesson.

Or so I thought....until last year...

...when my son mentioned that he kind of like my friend's daughter. In passing, I mentioned to her that he liked her daughter. Little did I know that she was going to tell said daughter and that daughter was going to tell her friends who turned around and teased him...at school...in front of his friends...who also teased him.

Sigh....

I have learned to keep my mouth shut. Keep confidences...every time. No matter who you are. No matter the secret. It's what I would want done to me.

Lesson learned. Mum's the word.