Compliments.

I've been feeling pretty good lately. About the world, my place in it, my self. I haven't lost a pound or gained a dollar or published a book or learned Mandarin, but lately, I've been feeling very... at peace with myself. I like my skin and the body it covers. I've been sick which has put a wrench in my nightly routine, and my poor baby has my cold now, but still, it hasn't affected the overall good mood I have. Plus we went to a park today that was completely shaded and Alex had not only a stellar lunch but a rockin' dinner. To top it off I managed to not eat any of her fish sticks and I do not know if you realize but they taste as wicked rad now as they did when I was 8. Which means I guess I did eat one tiny little piece she didn't want BUT STILL.

I went to the gym today. I aim for five days a week. Since I was sick I missed out on two days, so I got there early, did 20 minutes of cardio and then did my swim. There was another swimmer there, and though he was a lot slower than I was he had good form, and he could turn under water which I think is super rad especially since even thinking of doing it makes me feel like drowning even out of the water. Later, we both ended up leaving at the same time. He asked "You were in the pool, right?" and I said "Yep." He then said "I tried keeping up with you. But I couldn't." and I grinned and thanked him. I told him I had spent months training, and then he gave me a huge compliment and said "It's obvious. You move very well in the water." I thanked him again and then complimented him on turning underwater. And then I tried super hard to not strut like a goddamn pigeon down the length of the parking lot.

That was my fifth compliment about my swimming! It made me feel so good and coupling that with my current good mood, I was basically on cloud nine. It sort of solidified how serene I've been feeling, and it made me very grateful for my body, for its muscles and its acquired skills. I'm always pretty tough on myself because I believe self-delusion is repulsive and such a dangerous slippery slope. I'd rather groan at my love handles then put on some high waisted jeans and pretend they aren't there. But now I'm like, you know what, I did a triathlon and I still turn on my husband, so that means I'm strong and I'm sexy so pass the red wine and hand me that fried chicken.

Anyways, I'm glad I gave the swimmer a compliment in return because compliments are absolutely wonderful. They can make a bad day turn good and a good day turn luminous. I think it was Plato who said the whole Be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle, and it's true. At the most extreme, a compliment could save a life, or at the more shallow end, could make a woman swagger down a parking lot feeling like the HBIC of swimming (underwater turns excluded).