I Refuse to be Damaged

If you're reading this, you likely know my marriage has fallen apart.  It's impossible to go through this experience without dents and bruises on your self esteem.  Can you indulge me a moment and let me share a few moments/comments that spackled some of the holes in my perception of myself?
 

• ​I told one of my closest friends how long it'd been since I'd been intimate with my husband (or anyone!  I never stepped out on him).  She looked so confused and said "but TAFFY, you're PRETTY!  What a waste of a pretty girl!!".  Then tears spilled out of her eyes.  Right there at the restaurant.  
• ​At the Walker Stalker Convention, one of the actors we met said "wow...you sparkle".  More than once!
• ​I was at a local bar waiting on a friend.  After a brief interaction with the bartender about my order, a fella 3 sets down said I was a kind, warm hearted person.  He never even looked up at me, said he could just tell I was a good person by my energy.
• ​I went to a Christmas party and a friend's friend told me I had a great head of hair.  Later at the same party, they said "you're the reason girls are getting faux hair these days...to look like that!". 

​Please note the first and last compliments came from people who know what I'm going through and are quite possibly said with the sole purpose of kindness.  However, the middle two?  From COMPLETE strangers.  :) 

​I was organizing my paperwork for the divorce and didn't want to label the folder "divorce".  I decided to label it "north" since that's where I'm going.  Up from here!