I am far from conceited.
Although my brother would beg to differ! He claims I used to live in front of the mirror throwing kisses to myself. Perhaps I may have done that…no not really! IF and I say IF I did, it probably was to see how I look flirting with someone! I am actually self-conscious. I tend to see myself in a negative way – physically that is.
Well, with that being said. I was working a bingo – another story altogether not worth getting into – and one of the players and I passed one another. She smiled, and so did I. She said, “You have beautiful big brown eyes.” I replied, “thank you” and I assume I blushed. I thought that was very sweet of her to say.
That was a few weeks ago and I forgot about it. That is until a wedding I attended this weekend. Again, I was not entirely pleased with how I looked. I thought my hair was flat, and naturally I thought I looked entirely too heavy, even with the tummy control underwear and stockings I was wearing!
So I put my shoes on and my husband and I leave the hotel room – it was an out of town wedding. My shoe starts to fall off and I mutter an obscenity. My husband wonders what could possibly be the problem now. I mention to him that when I purchased my sandal, it was in the summer and I didn’t wear stockings. The shoe fit. Now that I am wearing silky stockings, the strap kept slipping off my ankle causing me to walk funny and to have to stop and fix the strap every so often. He rolls his eyes after the 5th time I adjusted the strap in the short walk to the elevator. We step in. There is a couple on already and they split leaving my husband and I room in the center. I feel the stare. Not from the man, but from the woman. I try not to look. She then says, “You look gorgeous. I love your dress.” I turn to her and smile and politely say, “so do you. Are you going to a wedding this evening?” In which she replies, “no, I have another event.”
“Oh, well enjoy it then”, I say as I leave the elevator. I give my husband a look and he returns it with rolled eyes. I noticed her tag was sticking out of her dress as she staggered away with her drink in her hand. The man walked the other way – they evidently were not a couple. “Do you think she is a prostitute?” I ask my husband. He laughs.
I enjoy the wedding – it was at a mansion and it was different. We were able to tour the house and visit the wine cellar for tastings. But this is not the point of my story, so I will continue.
The following day, we had to go home early because my kids had things going on! We left around 6:30 AM to get my son to his Veteran’s Day Parade by 10. Then there was the East/West game to benefit my son’s coach who is suffering from brain cancer (no insurance). I had a baby shower for my sister-in-law to attend and my daughter had a cheering exhibition to be at by 5:30.
I take a quick nap in the afternoon (perhaps 15 minutes) and freshen up. My mother-in-law picks me up and we head to the shower together. We are in cramped quarters which makes for very close interaction with all the guests. This is the first time I am meeting my sister-in-law’s family (long story). After a while, her sister comes over to me and says, “you are very beautiful.” I am taken by surprise, because I am exhausted, but I do have a smile on my face, because I believe you must make the best out of every situation!
I thank her for her compliment and know I blush – if not from embarrassment but from the heat in the house!
Now I will say, 3 compliments. Two almost back to back. All from woman. Where are the men complimenting me and most importantly why doesn’t my husband say anything? I can’t recall the last time he told me I looked nice. Isn’t that a shame? I could understand why men don’t say anything, they don’t want it mistaken for flirting, I suppose, especially with a married woman.
But why do woman do this? I appreciated every comment and naturally it made me feel very good. But why do woman compliment freely? And why don’t men compliment one another – is it the fear of being seen as “gay”. Is it a macho thing? I just don’t know but I do find it odd yet fascinating.
