Compliments

As I age there are things people have said to me that will always stick with me.  They are words that I simply don't want to forget.  I am writing this blog today to simply remember what was significant to me because for all I know I may have dementia one day and not remember any of this.  Plus, it's good for my boys to know the words and compliments you give others mean something.  The first time I can really remember feeling a real compliment was when I was about 30.  I know I had compliments through high school and college but darn if I can remember any of them (see my dementia comment above).  Anyway, Jay was 2 and a challenge!  Mike was building our house and Jay and I spent two full weeks living with my mom while Mike finished our house.  I was always thankful that my mom understood what raising a strong willed toddler looked like.  One night while we were in the living room mom looked at me and said, "Amy, I just want you to know you are really good with him."  I think those were her exact words.  Here I am 14 years later and I still remember her saying that to me.  It meant a lot to me because I was a relatively new mother, raising a challenging toddler.  So, thanks mom!  The second meaningful time was 7 years ago.  I was about 37.  I had decided I would leave my former employer, which at the time seemed kind of risky but fast forward to now it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.  Anyway, I accepted a job with my current employer.  It was scary.  At the time even my own grandma questioned my "leap of faith," and my former boss, who I have great respect for, said we could "stop the presses at any moment" in the hopes I would stay.  My husband, however, built me a beautiful office that I work in to this day.  One night after I had accepted my new position and plans were in motion he was talking to me about what he wanted my office to look like.  He stopped mid-sentence and looked at me and said, "By the way, I'm really proud of you."  I think I might have peed my pants in that moment.  Mike has said other very meaningful things to me which usually catch me totally off guard and shock the heck out of me - like, seriously I had no idea you felt that way????  Hence why I've kept him around for 20 plus years.  Ha.  And lastly, the words my Aunt Karen spoke to Kim and I as my dad was dying will forever be with me. On March 14, my dad was getting closer to going Home.  When it became clear to Karen that Kim and I were an emotional mess she pulled the two of us out of dad's room and with tears in her eyes she told us to go home and relax.  She reminded Kim and I that we had added so much value and love to our dad's final days.  What a compliment!  All Kim and I wanted to do was add value and love to our dad's final days and Aunt Karen cemented it.  I hope that through the years I've said something that means something to someone, something that sticks with them.  I pray that as my boys age there will come a time when something I say to them or their wives that just sticks and makes them feel how much I love them.