About Rebecca Eckler
Since becoming pregnant with her daughter Rowan, Canadian journalist and author Rebecca Eckler has penned three hilarious books, including the best-selling Knocked Up. Catch Rebecca’s weekly unique perspective on motherhood and single parenthood.
I used to worry about what other mothers thought of me, purely based on the fact I’d pick up my daughter in my pajamas with ratty hair (Hey, I’m a writer! No need to get dressed!)
I no longer worry about what other mothers THINK about me. I worry about what they KNOW about me.
The other week, I received what sounded like a pressing message from another mother of a friend of my daughter’s from school.
“Call me as soon as you get this,” she said breathlessly on my voice mail.
I called back, somewhat worried. This was a mother I’m friendly with, but not exactly friends with.
“I just wanted to tell you something funny,” this mother said. She proceeded to tell me how her daughter – let’s call her Sally – told her a secret when she got home from school.
It turns out that Rowan, my daughter, told her friend Sally that, “My mommy gets her legs waxed, her vagina waxed, and gets her pimples popped. But don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret!”
“Oh my god,” I said to this mother, mortified. “I can’t believe my daughter told that to Sally. I’m going to have to explain the concept of ‘Personal Things Not To Be Shared!’”
This mother, however, thought it was really cute, which is why she called.
Cute?!? I guess. I just kept thinking, “My god. Now this mother knows that I get my vagina waxed! So does her daughter!”
And then I thought, “What other little friends did my daughter tell this too? What if all the other mothers now know about my personal grooming? What if she told her teachers?”
I felt slightly betrayed by my daughter.
But, while it is true that my daughter has come with me and watched me get waxed and popped, I’ve never TOLD her not to tell anyone. How the heck would I have known that my daughter would think it was something “secret-worthy” to share with her friends (who would then pass it onto their mothers who then would tell me)?
In fact, I know a lot of things about parents that I probably shouldn’t know, but find out from my daughter. I know about the mother who flies around on a private jet. I know about the parents who are getting separated. I know about the mother who is never home. I know the mother who thinks that watching TV will send you to HELL!
I know all of this through my five year-old.
Have your children ever passed on personal information about you? Please share! Because, these days, when I pick up my daughter, I can’t help but wonder: When the teacher is telling me how good my daughter was today, is she really thinking, “I wonder if it’s time for her waxing!”
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