Last fall we purchased a new-to-us camper, but it got cold before we managed to take it for a test run. We decided to try a hybrid camper this time because it keeps the storage size down -someone considers shop space to be prime real estate, while someone else wants the camper stored inside to keep the mice out.
Our previous camper had a rotten floor right inside the door (covered with a steel plate but still a bit "spongy"), the hot water heater had long ago rusted out and ceased to work. The bed gave us a backache. Last trip we took with it, a piece of plastic fender went flying off as we pulled it down the road. Definitely a Redneck camper. It was time for an upgrade!
So this past weekend we took the Jayco on its maiden voyage. And we tried a new-to-us campground as well. It was completely redone a couple years ago so it's much nicer now. The cherry on top for me was having the whole family there all weekend.
It was baby Wyatt's first camping trip. Is it too soon to say he was a natural at it?
Avery kept asking to do "sprinklers".
I used to read "Storytime with Grandma", now I AM storytime with Grandma!
Our Father's Day lunch of smoked ribs, steaks, shrimp and baked potatoes -a man's meal.
Avery was scooting all around the campground. An older couple several sites up from us were watching her and complimented her scootering skills.
When I told her that the man said she was good at riding her scooter, she candidly replied "that's because I am." Oh, how I envy her un-jaded honesty! I struggle to accept compliments graciously. I've been pondering it ever since.
Apparently, I'm in good company. In a Harvard Business study, 70% of people associated feelings of embarrassment or discomfort with recognition or receiving a compliment. The author hypothesizes that what makes us uncomfortable is being caught by surprise. We tend to deny, deflect, explain away, apologize or otherwise blurt out something awkward in a knee-jerk reaction.
Deflecting praise can be my subconscious way of trying to regain control of a [surprise] emotionally vulnerable situation. Life experience has jaded me because I've experienced the pain of inauthentic praise (being praised to my face but gossiped about after I leave); I'm always trying to judge if the complimenter is sincere. Perhaps I need to take a tip from Anne of Green Gables and quip "Why, that almost sounds like a compliment." 😁 Or it can be our faith culture that taught me to respond with "modesty"; fear of admitting I'm actually good at something could be interpreted as pride. There are many reasons we squirm in response to praise.
My biggest take-away from the article was that a compliment is about the giver, not the receiver. The person is sharing how something impacted them, how it made them feel. I need to accept their perspective, honor their opinion, even if I don't agree... Slow down my response and let myself feel gratitude... Just say thank you. Nothing else, just thank you.
I may be a grandma, but I'm still learning. Truely "a little child shall lead them". (Isaiah 11:6) In the future when I'm surprised by a compliment, I hope I remember tell myself in my head "that's because I am."
