The biggest compliment

I'm not good at accepting compliments. Are you? I'm really not. I've been this way my whole life. It's a shame really. I should be thankful, but compliments kind of embarrass me. I'd much rather blend in - which I do most of the time (until I color my hair;) - HA!).

I mean, I think it's nice that someone took the time to tell me that they like my ________, but I find myself self conscious for the rest of the day. It's retarded and I know it.

The other day, a woman knocked on our door at the house. She said that she was with the Census Bureau and needed us to take part in her questionnaire. I'm not a fan of this either. When I told her I didn't want to do it, she looked at me like 'Uh, that's not a good idea'. The next day I was talking it over with someone and that person said 'I knew someone that did that. They said if you refused, then you were flagged by the government.' Ok - I don't want that, so I kept my appointment. (It seemed that was the vibe I was getting from the lady anyway.)

Last night the woman came to our home and asked us a gazillion questions. I would answer some then Justin would take over where I left off. Now, Nathan LOVES a visitor. He can't get enough of them. He couldn't be more excited about the fact that Jack is being evaluated because that means visitors. The lady last night was no exception. Nathan could have cared less what she was asking about, just having her in our home made him happy.

The lady was asking questions about our home, the price, the taxes, the stuff I could care less about. That's when Justin started answering the questions. After Justin answered about 10 of them, Nathan said "Wow Daddy - you sure are smart!" How cute is that? It made me giggle. Anyway, this lady was going on and on with her questions when she stopped what she was doing and said "I really have to tell you something. You guys are obviously great parents. You have amazing kids. I was a school teacher and you can tell when someone is a good parent. I can tell you guys are good parents."

Now that's the kind of compliment I could hear over and over. My kids are a HUGE deal to me. I don't care if you think I'm bragging, really I don't. I have great kids - and Justin and I have worked our butts off at making them that way. They didn't come out of the womb saying please, thank you and excuse me. They learned it. When I told people I was going to teach Nathan sign language, people acted as if I'd just took a hit off of a crack pipe. They looked at me as though I had something hanging out of my nose. It was at that time that I realized that if he could ask for more, he could also be polite about getting it.

Don't get me wrong here, I don't think I'm a great parent. There are many things that I'm sure in the long run I'll find that I did wrong. However, for now, my kids are polite and well behaved. Being a parent is my #1 priority - hands down. I think if everyone put all they had into raising children who were respectful and not entitled, this world would be a better place.

When I went to bed last night, a good 3 hours after the lady left our house, I was still soaring high on the highest compliment a person can give me. It's one I'm proud to accept and one I take seriously.