"I know it may look like I was being like a bitch, but that's only because I was acting like a bitch."

A few weeks ago, I attended the kid's Girl Scout meeting to sign her up to sell "The Cookies" (which, BTW, are now on sale so if you'd like to help my kid get her cookie selling patch, please let me know). There was one girl who told the leader that my kid was doing something that she was not. My kid was very embarrassed and began to cry. I realized that the cattiness in girls starts very young and no matter what I do, I'll never be able to protect my kid from it.

Every now and then, I question why my closest friends are gay men but then I realize that they are so much like girls, it's not even funny. (And I'm not talkin' about dressing up in women's clothing). It wouldn't matter if I was friends with more women; I'd basically get the same thing. You see sometimes, gay men are the cattiest, most bitchiest people around.

One of my serious New Year's Resolutions is to "not say mean or hurtful things about people I like behind their backs." In these short 22 days, I am proud to say that I have kept this resolution. It's really not that hard, I've found, because all I really need to do is just express my feelings upfront. And I guess this is why I am noticing how mean people are lately--the gossip, the cattiness and bitchiness that so many of us participate in. I am by no means perfect (this blog is proof) but it really annoys me these days when people are just downright mean to someone no matter if it's behind their back or to their face.

The other night as I was hanging out with some of the gaggle, a few just kept saying really rude things about a friend of mine and they didn't care. I realized that this wasn't the first time this had occurred and I began to wonder just how often they do this and what they say about me when I'm not there.

As I drove home that night, I began to wonder, "How am I to teach the kid that this behavior is not what makes true friends when my closest friends are being jerks right in front of her face?" And, more importantly, "Why are my friends like this? Is it just because they don't like this other friend of mine or because they are gay men and they HAVE to act like this?" I usually give most of my friends the benefit of the doubt regarding most things they do because that's just how they are. But most of them are not rude people (or maybe they are and since I like to see the good in people, I haven't seen it).

I realized a while back what my catty bitchiness did to others and when I reflected further on my actions I found that I mostly was like that because I was insecure about something that was going on or who I was or whatever. So I know that people who are like this--including my very own friends--are only doing it out of jealousy, insecurity, or even revenge. And in the end, they're only hurting themselves.

"Calling somebody else fat won't make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn't make you any smarter. And ruining Regina George's life definitely didn't make me any happier. All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you." Mean Girls