I had just stepped into the elevator on the way up to see my doctor for a check up, when a petite elderly lady followed me into the car. She was bracing herself on her walker.   The elevator was empty except for the two of us.

“Two please,”  she said.

I pushed the button for the second floor and smiled at her.  When she smiled back at me, I noticed her eyes.  Sky blue – like my late mother’s, and her eyes were smiling.  A genuine smile.  Her hair was styled in soft white curls that looked like maybe they had just grown back in with a few patches of her scalp still visible.  I wondered if she had been battling cancer.  She was wearing a soft pink blouse and navy pants.  She looked quite stylish.  I was reminded, once again, of how much I had missed having a grandmother that I knew.  My mother’s parents died when I was a small child.  My father’s parents died before I was born.  Somehow, all my life I had adopted elderly people, starting as a young teenager.

I turned my back to her to watch the elevator number panel.

“Your hair is so very pretty,”  she said and then smiled again as I turned around.  Again, a smile that reached her eyes.

“Why, thank you!”  I replied.  “I just had it cut this week.”

“I used to wear my hair like that when I was your age,”  she said wistfully.  “And I miss that.”

Before I had time to compliment her on her soft white curls, the elevator door opened and she got out.

Just a brief moment in time…and a sincere compliment.

Somehow, the rest of the day seemed a little brighter.  It made me realize that I need to compliment others more.  Much like a physical hug does, I realized that the interaction of a compliment – both giving and receiving – releases endorphins or serotonin, the “feel-good” chemical.

I promised myself I would work on being the giver of sincere compliments more often…