IS A COMPLIMENT REALLY A
COMPLIMENT?

          Good question.  I think we all have, at one time or another received a compliment, which we accepted at face value, feeling flattered, thinking we have done or said something profound,  something we really enjoyed hearing.

          We don't listen to the compliment, then start taking it apart, one word at a time, to see if it really WAS a compliment.  We accept the compliment and say "thank you".

          By the same token, we give compliments - I think to make us feel better as well as being "kind" to the recipient.  "You look nice today".  "I like our new hair-do."  "That color really suits you."  "I love your new car."  And on and on and on.  We hand out compliments left and right, but do we really ever stop and think about what we are saying, and how it will be received?  Of course not, we just hand them out.

          I am as guilty as the next person.  I never thought about it until this past weekend.  Now I will probably di-sect any compliment that happens to come my way.  And that is not a good thing.  Compliments are meant to be accepted at face value.  We are not supposed to question, or wonder why.  We are just supposed to accept them graciously.

          At Saturday's wedding reception I had a chance to speak with a young lady, my daughter's age, (46 - that is young to me).  This gal was a friend of my daughter's cousin,  the one whose daughter got married on Saturday, and as my daughter would spend time with her cousin during the summer, the three of them hung out together.  I sure hope I haven't gotten you hopelessly lost with the above narrative, but there is a point.

          This young lady happened to see me across the room, and next thing I knew she was asking me to sit with her a while at her table so we could catch up with old times.  Remember that - OLD times.

          She is quite a chatty someone, always was.  So as we were sitting and talking, she proceeded to tell me that I hadn't changed a bit, she knew me the minute she saw me.  It took me a while to place her without coming right out and asking her - who the heck are you anyway?  But I think I would have been a little more polite.  Hopefully.

          We did have a lovely chat, I enjoyed seeing her again, once I knew who she was.  But then - on the way home - I got to thinking about her compliment.

          YOU HAVEN'T CHANGED A BIT!

          I haven't changed a bit?  I look in the mirror and sometimes don't even recognize myself.  Haven't changed a bit?  Either I looked REALLY REALLY BAD when I was her age, or I look REALLY REALLY good at my age now.

          The picture below is what I see when I look in the mirror.  I'm the one on the right.  Of course I don't have my glasses on, which could make a difference.



          I think I'll go with the REALLY REALLY GOOD.  The alternative is very discouraging.  They say looks improve with age.  So I will believe that I look a lot better now than I did thirty plus years ago.

          The next time you receive a compliment, take a long look at it.  You might be surprised.  I kind of like to think that maybe I do look pretty good for my age.  So, many thanks for the compliment and God Bless.