You know you have great parents when you are in your thirties and they still keep your paper clippings up on their fridge (never mind that it is over a year old). Even if it’s something they have always done and you are used to it, it means something. Knowing you are loved and supported is a feeling every person should have and the more obvious those expressions the better. How often do we tell our friends and family that we are proud of them? We probably say, ” I love you” or we show that do in various ways, but the boost to self, even for a confident person, when someone they care about says, “I’m proud of you,” is pretty special. When kids are little, we put their art on the fridge and no matter what it looks like it’s the most beautiful thing ever and we let them know that. It’s not that we should be disingenuously offering praise all the time, but when we have the chance, we shouldn’t be afraid to let people know we care and we appreciate what they do. Most of us are pretty good at letting people know what we don’t appreciate, but it is somehow harder to let them know the things we do. We all could be better at it, but that starts with being intentional about how we respond and how we offer ourselves to those we care about. Those clippings on our parent’s fridge are a pretty great reminder and everyone (this is certainly not contingent on press clippings) deserves to feel appreciated.