We’re 10 days in, and I’ve paid some sweet, goofy, surprising, absolutely true compliments to some very deserving people. The point really isn’t to be outrageous (I just like the laughter that inevitably ensues when I am), it’s really about taking the time in July to say the nice things you often only think.

I told my friend she was braver than she knew. I told Chad and The Boy that there is no one with whom I’d rather be stuck in hot, miserable, unmoving traffic. I told Dillon he was wonderful and that if I were in a boy shop, I’d choose him, even if he were crazy expensive. (He assured me he would be.) I’ve complimented people’s hair, clothes, smile, lip gloss, car. I told a little boy that he was huge, and I meant it.

The point in July is to remember to say aloud the nice things that pop into my head. Oh, and to just say thank you when people say nice things about me.