Statuesque

Statuesque is such a nice word.  To be honest, I thought it was a nice way of calling someone fat, so when a woman called me "statuesque" yesterday, that was my first thought. I knew it meant more than that, so I took it as a compliment and after actually taking the time to look it up, I learned it was an enormous compliment.

Especially after I looked up the definition.  Tall and dignified.  School always taught me the first definition is the preferred one.  I'll take it, even though I'm not considered tall by today's standards.
The dictionary goes on to say imposing, striking, stately, majestic, noble, magnificent, splendid, impressive, royal, massive, and beauty.  Please note, of all those words, the only one that implies fat is massive and that word is massively outnumbered by more complimentary ones. I am not only complimented, I stand corrected. Sweet.

Then, to add to that one, the woman said I reminded her of Barbara Bush!  I assumed she was talking about my white hair. I mentioned that I loved wearing royal blue because it looked so beautiful on her at the inaugural ball. I figured if it complimented her hair and complexion, it would do the same for me. And, it does. When someone says I look good in that color, I mention how good it looked on Mrs. Bush.

She looks good in red, too, doesn't she? So do I. When I responded that those colors go well with the color of our hair, the woman who started this whole conversation said it wasn't just the white hair.  It was my whole demeanor, my countenance.  She said she kept watching me as I browsed through the books, saying she thought some of the words that define statuesque. It was humbling to hear her high praise, especially since I'd never met her before.





It bothers me when I'm expected to talk about myself.  It's taken me two years to come up with a bio for my books.  It's something that needs done, I know, but I honestly don't know what to say. Authors should include bios, but I'd rather someone else wrote mine.  The one I did was about 150 words instead of the 400+ available.

I don't like to hear others brag and I hate it even more when it comes from me.  Bragging, to me, is a strong sign of insecurity.  Proverbs 27:2 says, "Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips. I'm sure the high praise pouring from that woman's lips meant far more to me and the friend who was with me than anything I could have ever said about myself.  She blessed me greatly and I'm grateful.