The Power of a {Compliment}

The thing that I pride myself most in is being the best mom I can be. Someone once told me that even if you are an okay (not great, perfect, wonderful) parent 80% of the time, your child will turn out just fine. I didn't have a child at the time, but I've always remembered that. The truth is, I don't feel like the greatest mommy in the world most days. I do my best, but I'm by no means anywhere close to perfect and never will be. I may not know what Trice needs when he cries, sometimes I am selfish and decide I'm going to eat my yogurt before I get him out of his crib in the morning, and I'll admit that I occasionally think about turning off the baby monitor at 2 am (Yeah, yeah .. you think about it, too!)

So what's the point of all this?

This morning in church an elderly man made me cry - I know that when I say something made me cry it means nothing at this point because EVERYTHING makes me cry, but this truly touched my heart. Benny and I are your stereotypical first-time parents at church. That couple that looks frantic when their baby decides to scream in the middle of a silent prayer, that stands up and paces behind the pews, who brings 80 baby toys because if one falls on the ground it can't be used again until sterilized, and passes the baby back and forth hoping the other parent will have that "secret touch." Yep, that's us. Luckily, Trice really loves the music and enjoys church and we get off pretty easy, but he does have his moments.

This elderly man sitting behind us reached forward and put his arms around us during one of the songs. He said, "You two give that little boy so much love. Thank you. You are doing great!" Yep, tears. He continued to say, "When you (Grace), brought him back and he saw his dad, his face lit up and it brought tears to my eyes. You can tell when a baby is loved and when he loves his parents.Congrats!" 

Talk about waterfalls. But what really got me? Looking at Benny and seeing the tears in his eyes... 

This reminded me of a time last week I cried in the grocery store. It was another elderly man (I apparently attract elderly men) who came up and just smiled at Trice in his seat. He got Trice to smile and then he shared with me that he had a couple grandchildren who he doesn't get to see very often. He said, "They are just miracles, aren't they? Thank you for sharing your miracle with me today." Bah! 

My love language is words of affirmation, so these words especially touched me. However, I do not walk around hoping people will tell me I'm a magnificent person or I have the cutest baby in the whole world (although I believe I do), but it sure felt good. If all I ever really do right in life is show my children how loved they really are, then I have done enough and I will leave this world a happy person.

So, next time you see a parent smiling at their child or hugging them - how about letting them know what a great job they are doing? More importantly, if you see a parent struggling -- we've all seen that mom in the grocery store who has one child hanging on her leg, one climbing the shelves, another saying, "mom, mom, mom, mom" repeatedly, and the last yelling at the top of her lungs -- why not let her know that she must be pretty special to have been blessed with so many little miracles. It's easy to focus on the negative, but I know that nothing hurts worse than a judgmental stare or whispers and it's amazing how one little compliment can change your entire day! 

Trice wore his cowboy boots to church this morning! Happy Sunday ya'll!