Who makes you feel good about yourself?

So Marc and Angel Hack Life had a blog post recently that asked 365 "thought-provoking questions".  I've picked some of the ones that stood out to me and hope to occasionally use them as writing prompts.  Join me with your own responses if you'd like!

Who makes you feel good about yourself?

 This is a good one for me to ponder right now as I'm finding it incredibly easy to not feel good about myself and to take many things as my fault or due to my own shortcomings.  When I first read this question, I quickly jotted down three names.  I know I have other amazing people in my life who could be included in this list, but for now I'll just talk about these three.
   
Dara -- I met Dara, gosh, was it just last summer?  Surely not, but I know it has to be.  I could list all sorts of ways that I met her and they would all be sort of true -- freecycle, my online attachment parenting discussion group, through a need for a timer during my read-a-thon, with yummy ice cream while house-sitting.  It was an interesting time for us to meet each other and connect -- extremely significant things transpired for each of us soon after our meeting and I'm so grateful for the way Dara has been present to me in the past year in a real walking alongside-ness.   Fiona had a Halloween costume she loved thanks (in many different ways) to Dara.  The morning of my job interview, I used some of the yummy body products Dara gifted me -- and I got the job -- clearly due to Pangea soap.  Fiona and I love our home-made aprons -- Dara surrounds me with an atmosphere of plenty when things feel scarce.  But to focus more on the question -- Dara has asked me good questions as I've been working through so much life change -- and while they are questions she thinks I should have answers to, she doesn't imply that there is only one right answer to any of them.  She's consistently assured me that I'm not crazy and that goes a long way toward feeling good about myself these days. 

Kacy -- Kacy and I have known each other since the early 90s.  I've never been a good dissembler nor is there a significant difference between my public persona and my private self -- and that was even more the case 20 years ago.   Kacy has seen me in all seasons, at all times of day, on two different continents, with my family and hers, doing everything but pole dancing and coal mining (though life isn't over yet and who's to say?).  Kacy never says to me, "Boy, Buffy, I can't believe how perfect you are in every way.  I wish everyone, everywhere, was like you at all times."  She does tell me that I'm a good person, that she wants me to be happy, and, at one point, that I'm one of the most loving people she knows.  She tells me when I'm being realistic and when I'm not.  When she tells me I'm a worthwhile person, I know I can believe her because she is well aware of the ways in which I suck.  So when she says there are ways in which I rock, it's a true comfort.

Gaylen -- Gaylen was my camper for several summers in the late 90s when I was a counselor at a camp in southeastern Montana.   Happily, she and her sister, who was also my camper, live in Denver and I was able to reconnect with them a few months ago (and hope to do so again soon)!   Gaylen told me, during our time together, that she was jealous of Fiona because she'd always wished I was her mom when she was little.   What a lovely compliment and from a lovely woman -- It's been a nice thing for me to remember in the midst of trying to be a good mama for and to Fiona -- that someone once thought I'd be a good mama to them, that there are things I do well in that arena.

I love you, my friends.