When I was feeling all weepy and doubtful about his love, Tom cupped my chin in his hands and whispered, “You complete me.”
Wait a minute! My husband’s name isn’t Tom! Darn. That was a movie.
But ya know, you have to get your romance through movies when you’re married to a stock broker. 
I don’t think I ever got mushy-nice compliments like the ones listed above. The closest I ever get is along the lines of “you’re not that fat” or "it’s not that small ", etc…
However, the compliment I liked best was posted in an e-bay feedback, where a satisfied bidder called me “The King of Canadian Trilobites”. What an honour! I love trilobites, (especially Canadian ones) and to be King of them all, whatever that entails, makes me beam with pride.
You know, I’ve been sitting here for minutes trying to remember a compliment and my mind is hazy. I know I’ve received a few in my life, to which I’ve shot down with a heavy dose of sarcasm as a preventative measure to keep my head from swelling. But the only one at this moment, pre-java, that I can remember is from my old boss ( think Jimmy Stewart) who was in the hospital for cancer.
Introducing me to his nurses, " She always makes me laugh."
Despite the half baked operation he and his wife ran, he was a really nice old gentleman of a bygone era.
Being told by my GF that I’m everything she ever looked for.
I was very depressed, scared that I had made the wrong decision in deciding to delay college. All my friends were gone, I went from work to my apartment every night. It was horrible.
And then, from the most unlikely source, a friend who I had always percieved to be very self-centered, arrived an e-mail. She told me that she was in awe of my strength, and that she knew that she didn’t possess what I did. She said she couldn’t think of another person who did. And that I had accomplished so much for myself at such a young age. And that she was glad I was her friend.
I cryed, and whenever I felt alone, or scared, or weak, I read that e-mail, and felt instantly better. She taught me that THINKING people are amazing is one thing, and TELLING them can change everything. And she’s been one of my closest friends ever since.
along those lines:
“The highest compliment one can be paid by another human is to be told: ‘Beacuse of what you are, you are essential to my happiness.’” -Nathan Brandon. Still waiting to find the right person to tell THAT one to.
I’ve got two to submit, myself.
The first was from a complete stranger. I was studying in the cafeteria on campus when one of the employees stopped by my table. I looked up and she smiled and told me that I had very beautiful hair and that I should never cut it. I thanked her and she went back to work. My hair now reaches past my rump and many friends have said it’s my best feature. It has gotten so I’m used as a landmark: “I’ll be with the girl with the really long hair.” 
The other complement was more recent. My husband relayed a comment from one of our friends back to me. They had been discussing our role-playing sessions and how someone should chronical the adventures of our characters. My husband offered my services and our friend then said that he thought I would do a great job and that he was impressed with my writing skills. Wonderful out of the blue comment for a wanna-be writer like me.
Chrisbar
It came from my daughter… MoM, you’ll cool as sh…
Coming from a 21 year old, I felt very proud…
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL YOU MOM’s
I’ve always received the standard compliments from friends and strangers about my blue eyes and my long hair. It’s kind of a given that when I go out, at least one person says “you have the most beautiful eyes!” Kind of gets old after awhile but it’s still nice to hear.
My ex-boyfriend told me something last weekend that struck a chord with me. He told me that I was a great mom and that I was doing a wonderful job of raising my kids by myself. He said that he admired and respected me for my independence and that I was an incredibly strong woman. (God, I miss him!)
There’s nothing better than being told you’re doing something right when it feels like everything you do is wrong!
One of my friends told me I was the strongest woman, not physcial strongest, but character strongest that she had ever known.
When I was in college, I ran the film society and we invited John Ford to campus to speak. He was with us for two days, public and private. Eager young college kids that we were, we pestered him for all sorts of stories, anecdotes, insights. At one point he turned to me and said, “Dex*, you’re a fucking bore. You always want to talk about movies. I don’t want to talk about movies now, I want to talk about baseball.”
Being called a fucking bore by John Ford is one of the highlights of my life.
Eve? Shirley? Top that one.
My husband came home one night, saying he’d been in a political debate with some of the guys at work. They had been considering voting for Keyes, because he’s smart. By the end of it, they were acknowledging that he was a monster, and smart didn’t make up for it. They decided to look into it further.
The reason was not because he was stubborn, but because he countered all of their arguments with logic and took them point-by-point through what he was thinking and why. No fighting, no insults, just pure, real, arguments.
He told me “After five long years of arguing with you, I couldn’t lose.”
grin That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.
-Elthia
I love this thread. Thinking about all of this is making everyone smile <mush, mush>
There’s an email I’ve received several times that brings tears to my eyes <mush, mush> every time I read it. It’s about a teacher who was having a rough time with her class, who at one point had them list the names of every other person in the class, and write one nice thing about that person. She then compiled them into lists about themselves for each student. Years later, one of the students was killed in the Vietnam (?) war, and the students were reunited at the funeral. They all still had the lists, and all read them whenever they were feeling down.
And while I agree that compliments from strangers feel really good, my favourites are the heart-felt, sincere, and unexpected ones from people that you know.
<Sniff…> I love you guys…
You’re strange beyond your years.
My wonderful 9 year old daughter told me just this morning that I was THE most beautiful and best mom in the whole world. sigh I never tire of hearing that from her.
My beautiful mom, who basically raised me alone, told me that she is proud of me and admires the fact that I am raising my daughter alone and doing a great job turning her into a wonderful little person. My sweet boyfriend tells me how beautiful and sexy I am (even though I know I’m not) on a daily basis, this does wonders for my self esteem.
Excuse me while i go make a phone call now…
Foreground:
I had been divorced for about a year. On a whim, I flew back to the states from Italy, where I was stationed, to meet a girl I had known for years, and had always loved. Nix.
So, the subsequent broken heart lasted a long time. I was crushed, fell into depression, alcoholism, and financial trouble.
Just last year, at my sister’s wedding, I was reunited with my whole family for the first time. I spent all day with various members of my family, getting to know them again after a few years of self-imposed isolation.
When I got home, there was a message on my answering machine. It was my mother. All she said was “Brian, after this weekend, I’ve decided that I don’t have to worry about you anymore. You’ve got it all figured out.”
That. That was the best thing I’ve ever heard.
I have a 3 year old son who’s speach is not developing as quickly as it should. We’ve been working with him to say different expressions and such, including “I love you”. When we would say it to him, he would say it back, but just as an auto-repeat. It didn’t really sink in.
Then one day, as I was doing some chores in the basement, he came up to me, gave me a “thumbs up” sign, and said, “Daddy, you’re a great one.”
SNIFF I just about lost it right there. Probably the best compliment I’ll ever receive.
Being told “You saved my life” (that person meant it both emotionally and physically)
Having strangers at another msg board all agree that I had amazing analytical skills (when english isn’t my first language), while close family and friends have said I can argue about anything for as long as I like
Being asked “Are you a ballerina? Oh, I thought u were because you have a great posture” (however mum always insisted that it was just another way of saying how flat my body was )
Being told “my troubles go away as soon as i see you smile” from someone i love. Knowing something as simple as a smile can make someone i love happy, makes it even more easier to smile.
After my boyfriend’s mother (who I really, really liked) died, we were at his sister’s house, with his stepfather. His stepfather said (in front of me), “Even though Cathy isn’t Jewish, I really think’s she’s good for you. You mother thought she was very special, too. We used to talk about the two of you alot.” Wow. I guess my boyfriend thought I was special too, because he married me.
I was voted friendliest in my senior class superlatives, and that still means a lot to me.
And I have so enjoyed reading everyone’s responses. The topic made me think of this incident immediately…
When my brother and his wife were expecting their fourth child, I went to stay for a while, so I could look after the other three while they were at the hospital. I arrived to discover a large “Welcome Auntie” banner they’d created and put up in their living/dining area. I was indeed moved by this sight and thoroughly enjoyed my stay and welcoming the new baby.
After being home a few weeks my bro called and mentioned that the day I left, he had casually reached up to take down the welcoming banner, saying “Well, I guess we can take this down now.” And the kids freaked out, they all came yelling, “No, No, don’t take it down, we want her to come back!” It was still up three weeks later, I had to laugh when I heard the story. That’s a compliment.