**YOU** are beautiful!

Yesterday I went to visit a friend who lives in a nursing home. I met her next door neighbor, a tiny, sweet, white-haired woman with eyes as big as saucers. I shook her hand as I was introduced. Her eyes grew even larger as she said, "YOU are beautiful!" Her face filled with enthusiasm. "You are just gorgeous! In fact, you both are beautiful!" I laughed and said thank you. My friend stage-whispered to me with a smile, "She says that to everyone!"

I took the sweet lady's hand and thanked her. She said, "I am only Sylvia Zimmerman, but you are beautiful!" I replied, "Sylvia Zimmerman, YOU are a beautiful lady!" With that a nurse came down the hall. Sylvia's face lit up and said, "Look at her. She's beautiful!" With that Sylvia burst into her own rendition of "You are my sunshine!"

This sweet, old lady has such a gift of God--making people feel special about themselves. It didn't matter that I was dressed in my most comfy, "slop" clothes and that my hair was pulled back haphazardly in a pony tail. I laughed again with joy when Sylvia told me, "Really! You could be a model. You are gorgeous!"

As we walked down the hall, I laughed and told my friend, "That lady just made my whole day. I need to have her at my house, so on those days when I dread looking in the mirror, Sylvia will be right there telling me how beautiful I am because she sincerely means it!"

So I pass it along to you, dear reader......YOU are beautiful!.........really!! :o)