The Gossip Game: Good or Bad?

Some of the fondest memories of my teenage years happened on Sunday morning around our kitchen table.  Over eggs and toast, eyes still half-open and strutting around in our PJs, my mother, two sisters and I gossiped.  Yes, I admit it we sat around and talked about who was sleeping with who in the family, how so and so was doing in school, Jesus and the Bible,  Whitney and Bobby and everything in between.  We gossiped.  All of those warm and fuzzy memories got me to thinking about why gossip gets such a bad rep.

One of the many things I remember from the Beyonce documentary, "Life is But a Dream," is perceptions on female conversations.  Bey confessed that while she loved her husband, it was female conversation that expanded her mental capacities, or that she grew from. That statement makes me think about the weekly church meetings that you might see in an old Black movie.  Everyone wants to talk about going back to the old school.  Well, gossip is as old school as it gets.  That's why the matriarchs gathered for that weekly church meeting.  It was their way of not only venting, but also where they kept their pulse on the community.  It was where they gained insight and learned the rhythms of the community.  Gossip created a bond between older women and younger women.  It allowed grandma to show up with that bag of groceries on the day your paycheck was short because she knew two weeks ago that Aunt Glenda seen you walking home from work with a frown on.

I recently moved next door to my father.  People always ask me how that works.  Does he get on my nerves? Yes.  Do I love that my kids can walk next door? Yes.  Do I hate that my dad knows I'm late for work at least three times a week and won't stop talking about it? Equally, yes.  But, what I love even more is feeling like I have someone to back me up.  My mother will come to my house in a heartbeat and say "What the hell is going on here."  Do I hate it?  Yes, but she never does it with ill-intent.  She's in my business so she can help.  So, its time to get back to using our gossip for good.

Every mommy deserves a gossip gang.  We are all going to make mistakes.  We are all going to do things we regret, but don't think your sister hasn't been through the same thing.  She has, and she wants to talk about it.