Complimentary

I celebrated my birthday this month. I always enjoy a new beginning, but this year my birthday carried a bit more weight. It wasn’t a particularly special/scary number or anything; It’s last year’s fault, I think. Last year was sort of the beginning of the end, because last year was the year the warranty ran out on my face.

I didn’t even know that could happen! I had never experienced such a change so suddenly. All my other birthdays, even the “significant” ones, passed like any other day. I had no reason to expect anything different last year, but I must have reached some kind of turning point. They say a woman doesn’t grow into her face until she’s 30, but the problem is, right after that it starts to go downhill. Fast. I noticed my face was changing, like, one day into the second part of my thirties. I believe my reaction was something along the lines of “Are you [censored] kidding me?!”

It’s not that I look bad, I don’t look worse than most people my age. From what people tell me, I even look a bit younger than my years. After a certain point, it’s all how you take care of yourself, and I really put a lot of effort into taking care of myself, and making the most of what I have. Or what I have left.

And it’s all relative, of course, because I’m not that old. But it has become obvious to me that old is coming sooner rather than later, and I am less than thrilled. Occasionally, it bums me out. I haven’t really come to terms with it yet, since it’s kind of new. I would like to age gracefully, but I’m not ready. For now, I’m aging grumbly.

I was feeling grumbly for a few days in a row, when a trip to the dentist (of all places) cheered me up.

When I walked into the office, the receptionist complimented my hair, which over the last year has started changing for the worse. To quote my hairdresser “It’s getting belligerent.” Anyway, the receptionist raved about how great my hair looked. So that was really nice, but you know, women trade hair compliments pretty frequently.

Then, when I sat down in the chair for my cleaning, the hygienist complimented my skin. Wow, I’m really racking up the compliments today! Thank you! That was nice!

But then she went on and on about how she’d seen me through the years and I didn’t seem to be aging, and my skin looked so pretty and would I please tell her my secret. Then she kept talking about skin while she cleaned my teeth. (But not in a creepy way, even though I know it sounds VERY creepy.)

Now, I realize I look worse in the mirror than I do to the rest of the world. Aside from knowing where the flaws are, what I see in my bathroom mirror is closer and brighter than normal life. But that hygienist was right up in my face! Literally, IN MY FACE, since both of her hands were in my mouth. And she’s complimenting my skin? That’s a pretty significant compliment.

I left the dentist’s office with an extra bright smile that day.

I also left with the idea to put together a list of my favorite products. The ones I buy over and over. Because I talk about a lot of different products here, but I feel like inquiring minds might want to know my mvps, my starting lineup, my all-stars, my sporty-sport-something-somethings. So you can look forward to that next week.

The point of this post is the value of a compliment. I always kind of thought they were just people being polite, or a way to make conversation. And sometimes they are. But the best compliments are specific, sincere, and unexpected. The hair compliment was nice, and I appreciated it, but the woman raving about my skin made me feel pretty for at least a week. (Granted, that compliment was a little over the top, but I loved it because I knew she MEANT it.)

Maybe I need compliments more than I used to? I certainly appreciate them more. Perhaps it’s just the maturity that comes with age (and aging!)

If you think about it, compliments are the ultimate beauty product. It’s one we can’t buy, but it’s one we can give each other. Next time you get a compliment, take a moment to appreciate it. And be generous with your own compliments, they’re free!