Take the compliment. Seriously.

Where I live, it's getting warmer.  Yesterday was the first play-outside-in-short-sleeves kind of day. I live in the state where it didn't start snowing til the end of January and our big city still broke it's record for the snowiest winter ever, so people are pumped.  Ladies and gentlemen everywhere are pulling out their shorts and dresses and flip flops and sunglasses and getting these hits of vitamin D that make them manically grin.  We're seeing neighbors emerge, running into friends on walks around the block.

It's about to get complimenty up in here.

It might be That is the cutest dress! or You're so good to be out running! or Your pedicure is adorable!  Or maybe it will come in the form of I love the color you painted the deck, or even Your new roof held up so well, that was smart to go with those ice-dam-prevention shingles!  

Of course, you are lovely and wonderful year round, so you may hear things like this all the time.  At work, a coworker might praise your presentation, or simply remark how patient you are with your children if they call when you're at the office.  Your best friend might tell you she's impressed with your dedication to meal planning.  Your sister might tell you that you throw the best Sunday brunches.  You look cute, often, and everyone from the secretary at the doctor's office to your mother's cousin is going to tell you that they like your shoes/hair/earrings/bag/lipstick.  

Here is how you're not going to react: you're not going to stammer.  You're not going to deflect.  You're not going to come up with an excuse as to why you don't deserve the credit.  There is a famous family story about a time when I had been working hard to get healthy, and I saw my mother, who sweetly told me I looked like I had lost weight.  I was so bad at taking compliments, EVEN FROM MY MOM, that I immediately blurted "I have acne on my back!"  (I have acne on my back is now shorthand for anyone ducking kind words).  You're not going to do that.  You're going to take the compliment.

It's easy.  "Thank you!"

Really, that's all there is to it.  Smile while you say it.  Then ask a follow up question (How did your roof do? or Did you see the Oscars last night? or What time do we need to meet with Jim?) and move about your day.  You can tack on a "I've been working on that," or "I really like this color, too," if you're feeling ambitious. It's okay to tell people that their compliment brightened your day, or validated something you've been putting work into.  But if all of this is hard for you, practice the beginners version.  Smile, and say "Thank you!"

I've definitely shared this before, but it is probably the most brilliant thing ever put on the internet.  I love Amy Schumer's comedy, and this is one of her best sketches.  It's severely NSFW, but until they all start killing themselves, I would say it's barely exaggerated as far as the dialogue between women when they are complimenting each other.  Please watch it.  This is what you look like when you don't take the compliment.

This weekend I received a compliment from a blogger that I admire (Jennifer from Cult of Pedagogy, the only education blog you need to be reading- the tagline is Teacher Nerds, Unite.  Come on.) and her kind words completely made my day.  It's time to get braggy.  I would love it if you would be brave enough to share a compliment you've gotten lately.  Let's get in the habit of celebrating each other, and start be celebrating ourselves.

Homework: 

1. Smile and say "Thank you!" to every compliment you receive.

2. Share a great compliment you've gotten.  Remembering it will give you that warm fuzzy a second time.

Parks and Rec is ending, and other things making a mess of me

I've been struggling with routine and winter doldrums.  I can't stay awake past 8:00, I can't get my act together and write the to-do lists that usually keep me focused. I'm living in a constant state of scraping by, and it's too hard.  Some of it is weather and some of it is depression that Parks and Rec ends tonight.  I also need to pull my head out of my ass.  Lovingly.

I pulled some good articles about self-care and made a little Pinterest board.  There is some cute/helpful stuff.  Most self-care advice is shockingly mundane: eat some healthy food, stretch your muscles, light a candle, get some rest.  But that's the shit we're not doing that makes us seek out self-care advice in the first place, so I get it.

Also, I encourage to watch your favorite shows, drink some spiked cocoa, and browse pictures of cats and dogs being friends without shame,  Looking up the GIF for this post cured half of my ails instantly (the link to GIF above and 1000 more is here).  Also making me happy: 

Reading: Yes Please by Amy Poehler, The Grisha Series by Leigh Bardugo, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Lanni Taylor.  I love the main character in that last one, and starting the second book of that trilogy might be another thing that perks me up. (My Goodreads profile for all the info)

New podcasts I've discovered: Book Riot and Invisibilia.  Makes chores melt away.

Binge-watching: Friends, New Girl, Firefly, Portlandia (all Netflix)

How do you take care of yourself when you don't feel like it?What's lighting you up in the dead of winter? Also, please feel free to share your favorite Parks and Rec GIF because that made my morning.