being judgmental

Judgers love to judge. How judgmental are you as a parent of other parents? Or as a mother to non-mothers? Or just as a mere person to other people? I will confess that I’m judgmental at times. I can leap to conclusions about other people and then decide that’s totally accurate and correct on a dime. I judge other parents, mothers, sisters, daughters & everyone else. BUT I’m working on not being judgmental. Rather, I’d like to exercise my sense of judgment without being judgmental. Tricky thing. Am I splitting hairs? I don’t think so. These are pretty different concepts, right? 1) Judgmental people have few friends. Webster says this: 1: of, relating to, or involving judgment 2: characterized by a tendency to judge harshly — I’m going with the second definition here, people. Being judgmental means that you are always on the lookout for something to pounce on, to criticize. It means that as the person is sharing about their life choices, or their circumstances, you’re already evaluating, categorizing, and psychoanalyzing them. It means that your tolerance for people who process life differently than you is low. It means you are not a fun friend to have! Many of my mama friends work outside the home. Many had pain meds at the birth of their children. Many aren’t Catholic. Some are single parents. Some didn’t go to college; others are PhDs. They’re not my friends because we have the same path in life. They’re my friends because we are driven by the same desire…