I was without Kyle in Portland, so I tried to step up and help with Cherie's twins. I even picked them both up at one point because they wanted me to, and I'll be damned if I won't prove how good I can multi-task if you challenge me.
Post-nap, pre-diaper change one day, I had Dane on the changing table and Cherie said, "Have you always been maternal? Or did it come with Kyle?"
"Uh ... I dunno."
"You're good with the boys. Really good."
"I was a preschool teacher and a nanny but you feel you gain some credibility when you have your own, I guess?"
"I'm surprised, a little."
"What?"
"That you're so good at it. You're tough, you're on top of it, you're good."
"Mike thought I'd be a doormat too, that I'd let Kyle get away with everything and be soft and ... "
"You're not. I'm really impressed."
"Thank you, Cherie."
Later that trip she told me she doesn't like to give away compliments easily, which makes sense since some of the best things I've ever heard have come from her.
She's like Mike in that way. They don't compliment often or easily so when they do, you feel it. It stays with you. You carry it to get you through the internet trolls and the bad work reviews and the mean customer service reps.
Some people's words carry you through.
Some people like her.