Aww, shucks.

Usually, I don't bother to make new year's resolutions. If I'm really serious about something, I save it for Lent. ..There's more riding on that and I'm good with pressure.

A couple nights ago when we were out to dinner, it hit me: I am horrible with compliments. I don't give them often enough and I have to remind myself to take them gracefully.

I believe my lack lies somewhere amid ingrained Southern humility, shaky self-confidence and my knack for self-deprecating humor.  It's the compliment Bermuda Triangle. Nothing goes in, and nothing comes out.

It's really not the train wreck I make it sound like, but when someone says something complimentary, I look down (because sometimes my cheeks turn pink) and fight like crazy the urge to say, "Ugh, my hair is tangled and my pants are too short!" After lots of practice, I can usually squeak out an "Aww, thank you." But it's a battle. It really is.

Especially after Harper. . . even if I look together, I'm a bit of a hot mess.  It's not like I don't like compliments.  It always makes me feel great, I just react poorly.

..and because I don't take them well, I don't give them well.  Much more than not, I swear, I'm thinking something positive about someone I see. Oh, and by the way.. the adage that you shouldn't be so self-conscious because people are rarely paying attention to anything but themselves? Can I just call BS on that? Pre-Harper, and when she's behaving herself, I definitely notice other people.

So, this year, I resolve to give more compliments.  Not fake crap. . . just verbalize what I'm thinking. Because it makes people feel good. And life is hard sometimes. And people need to hear it. And if me saying, "Wow, I like that nail polish" might give someone a little pep, I'm in to that.