Guest blogger Dani Klein Modisett on Mommy Gossip: It's hard not to talk about other moms with new mom friends when you have little else in common. Or is it just me?

"Yeah, I know I HEARD!" my new friend said, her eyes widening. We were waiting together at the bus stop to pick up our sons from their first day of kindergarten. We had just figured out we have a mutual friend whose husband had left her for another mom at their preschool.

"Can you believe it?" I asked. "I feel so bad for her. Just so shocking."

"I don't know, maybe it wasn't shocking. Maybe there were problems."

"Maybe."

I respond, dying to know what she was implying. Did she know something I didn't? Did the woman suck down bottles of painkillers? Never get out of bed except to drop the kids off or -- the worst crime -- stop having sex with her husband? I wanted to ask, if only to make the time go faster. I was nervous about my son starting a new school -- and waiting for him at the bus at the end of the day was stressful. What if he hated it? Or got bullied, or didn't eat his lunch? Distracting myself with some juicy mommy gossip was irresistible. Like taking a hit off a joint that's passed to you.

"Did you tell Sarah about me and John splitting up?" the mutual friend asked me two nights later at our book group.

"No." I responded, swallowing hard. Thank God I hadn't. Thank God she knew already.

"Oh, because she called another friend of ours and said some nasty things about me. I was just wondering where she found out."

"Oh. Not from me." Awkward pause. "So what did you think of the book?"

Close call. Note to self: Just say no to gossip.

Dani Klein Modisett is the mother of 1-year-old Gideon (pictured) and 5-year-old Gabriel. She is comedy writer/creator/producer of the show "Afterbirth...stories you won't read in Parents magazine." An anthology of stories from this show will be published by St. Martin's Press, in stores in May 2009.