The Compliment Huddle

Ok, stories that I promised- First off is the awkward one... though it's kinda hilarious.

So Bailey is one of the girls who I roomed with. I liked Bailey a lot. She was sitting between Patrick and I on Sat night at one point... and the subject of boyfriends and girlfriends came up and she asked Patrick about his girlfriend and then she asked me if I had a boyfriend. I said "No." But she could tell there was more to it, and I wasn't sure what to tell her so I started. "I..." and then I trailed off because I didn't know how to bring up Nathan. And then I looked at Patrick... and back at Bailey... and then back at Patrick, trying to figure out what to say... and then back at Bailey. But this point Bailey was giving me a weird look and I suddenly realized that it looked like I was trying to say that there was something between Patrick and I. So then I freaked out and just blurted the first thing that came to my head.

"I have a dead husband."

(Renée shakes her head at herself and puts her forehead in her hand.)

Yep. I really blurted it out just like that. And Bailey looked at me and said... "Are you for real?"

And I was like, "Yeah... I'm serious. It was cancer."

Oh Lawsie. You'd think after 20 months I'd be better at this. Nope. If anything I've gotten worse.

To her credit, Bailey took it like a trooper, and didn't freak out with the full force of my awkwardness.

And now the story of the compliment huddle.

It was raining a lot and there was a porch just outside of our room. At one point Bailey and I along with two guys I have classes with and a guy and a girl whom I really didn't know at all were sitting on the porch, (everyone was rather intoxicated except me and the other girl, Ellen) and Bailey says, "Guys. shut up."

Drunk people speak loudly. So then she yelled again, "Guys, Shut up! I just had a great idea." (I dropped out some of the expletives that were used.)

Everyone shut up.

And then Bailey proclaimed her great idea. "We should all get in a huddle and compliment each other."

Now the thing is... if everyone had been sober they wouldn't have done it. Heck, I'm not sure that Bailey would have suggested it if she had been sober. But she was right, it was a great idea.

So Bailey suggested a compliment huddle and one guy jumped up and then everyone else on the porch stood up too and got in a huddle- all six of us. And then we went around the circle, giving each other compliments. Honestly.... I think it was one of the best ideas I've ever heard. People don't do that enough and they should.

The next morning everyone was kind of embarrassed, but bonded at the same time. Bailey kept disparaging it... I think because sometimes giving a compliment is embarrassing. What are the people going to think about you the next day, when there isn't alcohol coursing through their system? And it was her idea... but I tried to tell her not to do that. It was a really *good* thing.

One of those moments that you hold on to- A great story you tell- That time six strangers had a drunken compliment huddle on a porch during a rainstorm. You can't plan moments like that. They just happen and leave you better for it.