You guys. What is better than feeling good in your outfit?! Does anything compare?!

Okay so I’m only partly serious but definitely serious. I felt really good in my skin today, which isn’t a given after having two kids and never really learning how to apply makeup. I was wearing a new skirt from my favorite store, an old shirt that hasn’t fit me in years, and a velvet bow I found on sale over the holidays and even though I couldn’t see it, I just loved the feel of it hanging back there, telling the world that I, an adult woman, am just that girly.

I felt good.

So there’s this room in our church building called “the mother’s lounge” and it’s where moms can go to nurse their babies. I was in there with two other women and after one complimented the other’s dress, she kind of shrugged it off and said, “It’s definitely tighter than it used to be.” Then we all started talking about how our clothes don’t fit but hang in our closets, mocking the younger and smaller versions of ourselves that also thought we weren’t good enough.

And I didn’t think anything of it, really, until I got home and changed. I put back on my mom uniform of sweatpants and an oversized sweater but I wasn’t ready to take off the velvet bow just yet. We were three women, doing something for our babies that no one else could do for them and we were demeaning ourselves. Right as we were performing the miraculous work of breastfeeding, we were turning a compliment into insults. Why? Why do we shrug off compliments? I’m completely guilty of it, too. Anyone who told me they liked my talk last week, I would say, “Oh you’re too nice, I hate speaking” or “Thank you, yeah, I’m so glad it’s over.” I wish I had said, “Thank you, yeah I worked really hard on it. I’m glad you enjoyed it.” But it’s like I couldn’t let the compliment reach me or hang in the air too long. So I dismissed them, one by one.

The world can be a difficult, ugly place but I’m wondering now if there is goodness we simply don’t allow to reach us. You know, are there wisps of kindness in the air that we sway away without thinking?

I felt really good today. I felt good about my talk last week and still, I couldn’t hear praise for it. So I’m going to make a conscious effort to compliment others more and make sure they hear me. I’m going to make a conscious effort to accept the goodness people offer to me. And I’m going to let it hang in the air like rays of sunshine, making my world a brighter, prettier place.

Happy Sunday, everybody.

xo

eb