It's complementary, my dear

I used to keep a happy box. It contained cards, letters, notes, and clippings that made me happy. I still have that box. It's stuffed to the brim and sitting on my closet shelf. But I don't "keep" one anymore. Instead, now I have notes stashed here and there - in my email, in my PM box on ScrapShare, in the comments sections of this blog, in a clear acrylic box on my desk, on my bulletin board, in the top drawer of my chest of drawers....

I also have slips of paper where I've jotted down quotes that I liked, or snippets of conversations I had with the kids. Those things are strewn about as well.

Mostly, the things I've kept for the last several years have been compliments. Sometimes, when I come across them, my heart heaves with joy. I'm glad I keep those things. They've been my saving grace many times. I sometimes don't respond to the compliments that come my way. Sometimes I'm too embarrassed by them, sometimes they feel undeserved, and ... well, I'm just really bad about accepting compliments in any form. I don't know how to do it graciously. I'm more likely to roll my eyes and make a joke about it.

So now, I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you. THANK YOU. You know who you are. You know the text messages you've sent me, the emails and PMs you've taken the time to type, the notes you've spent .37 on to mail me. Thank you. I may not have answered, but I kept them. I read them. I appreciate them.

Tonight, I received a compliment that made my heart happy. As I tucked Aidan into bed, he said, "Mommy? I like loving you."

If hearts could sing out loud, mine would've been doing so.

I'm thinking of gathering all the compliments into once place: a scrapbook. What should I title it? Would that be completely and totally egomaniacal of me?

Compliments.
They speak truth to my doubtful heart.
I should celebrate them more than I do.
I should believe them.
I should accept them graciously.

"I can live for two months on a good compliment." ~Mark Twain