Stranger makes my day

I was standing in line for the salad bar at the church dinner tonight and the woman in front of me turned around looked at me for a split second and her eyes lit up and she said, "Well, hello!" Thinking I must have met her before or something I smiled right back and gave her a cheery "Hello!" She said, "My, you are just beautiful! You have great eyes." and then she simply turned around and started fixing her salad.

For a split second I was taken aback. Not embarrassed, but sorta shocked. It was a strange incident. However, it appeared to be so sincere that I felt good inside and walked a little bit taller and smiled a bit more. It made my day.

I can probably count on my hand how many times a stranger has told me something like that. My hubby says it a lot and friends will tell you that you look great when you are dressed up to go out or wearing something new or different. But it is not common for me to hear a compliment like this one from a complete stranger.

I remember once in High School some random parent at a track meet told me I had great skin. The look on my face must have been something as I had never in my life heard anyone tell me that. But I never forgot it and started to believe I really did have great skin! The second person in my life to ever tell me that was my husband the first day I met him. He also thought I had nice elbows . . . Elbows????

Incidents such as the one tonight remind me of an episode of Oprah I watched. She told the story how a wife of a politician visited her hometown and as she was greeting the crowd she paid Oprah a compliment on her beauty. Oprah never has forgotten that and it contributed to her self-esteem and completely affected her life. Oprah had the woman on her show and she of course did not remember paying that compliment to Oprah many years ago but was gratefully that she had such a profound affect on her.

So I would like to thank the lady who paid me such a wonderful compliment. You are an angel. And you hit me on a day that wasn't going the greatest. I looked at myself in the mirror when I got home and saw a pale tired face with dark circles. Maybe you saw that too and thought if you told me the opposite of what you saw it would help me feel better. Well, if that is true it sure did. WHile standing in front of the mirror I closed my eyes for a few seconds, opened them back up and smiled. There, now that must be who she saw!

Ultimate Compliment

I was driving with a friend on Monday who is from this area. She and I know each other through our kids. We have always enjoyed each other's company and often have coffee together. She is someone I truly admire and respect. I also just love her artistic flair, quirkiness, sense of style and sense of humor. I sometimes long to be more like her.

We cross the Madisonville Bridge and I tell her about the Wooden Boat Festival.

So she starts telling me about a book she is reading and how it reminds her of me. She explains the story and I don't get how it reminds her of me. So I ask. She says, "Because you embrace the world around you. You are not from here and you embrace everything about living here. You immerse yourself into your evironment."

I was taken aback at the comment for a minute. It was coming from somone I think does the same. What a super compliment to receive.

She went on. "Do you know how many people who have lived here their whole lives have never been to the Wooden Boat Festival?"

We went on to discuss how I have lived in 3 other states and have loved each one of them in different way and for very different reasons. It is all what you make of it. It is all in your ability to adjust and accept. Part of loving where you live is understanding it and discovering it. I guess I naturally do that wherever I go.

I have worked with people who have worked in the same place since they left college. They would complain endlessly about their job. I would think, "You don't know how good you have it."

Same goes with living somewhere your whole life. Unless you have left and lived elsewhere you often don't know how good you have it. Every place can be enjoyed for what it has to offer. Some are definitely better than others and more preferred but make the best of where you live and what you have.

Immerse yourself!