Sunday Night With John: The Sweetest Compliment

Sunday Night With John: The Sweetest Compliment

Written by my mother-in-law, Cynthia Hansen

Not so long ago I experienced a life-changing moment.  It was an unexpected comment from what I thought was a stranger.  The story goes like this…It was the first day of a weeklong training to learn a new approach for working with children.  I was excited and more than a little nervous as the room filled with behavioral service professionals being trained by a national expert.  As I sat and listened to the speaker what he said was making sense to me.  I began to feel a real energy shift from negativity to an enlightened sense of positivity, confidence, and meaning. 

Soon enough, as with all good trainings, we broke into small groups to practice our new skills.  The woman sitting next to me, the so-called stranger, remained quiet for several minutes and then quite unexpectedly she turned to me, interrupted the group, and pronounced me to be the sister of her dear friend.  I have more than once been described as the sister and I thought I knew what to expect.  I acknowledged who I was and sat back to hear her version.  It is important you know I am the middle daughter.  My older sister is a successful beautiful woman and my younger sister is quite the same.  Having often, in my life, listened to litanies of their beauty, charm, spectacular accomplishments, and magnetic personalities I must admit sometimes, deep inside, I have struggled with my own confidence.  I was having that struggle when the woman continued.  She had recognized me not because I reminded her of my sister but because I reminded her of my mother.  My heart stopped.  My mother’s memory flooded me. This woman had just given me the nicest, sweetest compliment of my life.

 I dearly loved my mother and to be compared to her was stunning.  I have always thought if I could be even a little like her as a person and a mother I would have accomplished something.  I guess I have.  

 So, for me the moral of the story is don’t hold back, share the moments, say what’s in your heart.  You never know when you may help change a person’s life. 

Happy Mother’s Day Mom…