The Truth About Tears

"Let your tears come, let them water your soul."

 - Eileen Mayhew

Crying is often looked down upon.

It is something that is seen as weak, inappropriate or shameful.

Well let's take a closer look at tears shall we?

Crying can mean many things.

People cry when they are sad.

My Julian when he was younger giving his best dramatic interpretation of "sad".
Hey...maybe he will get into acting!
But I am thinking athletics is more his thang.

People cry when they are angry.

What did you just say dude?

People cry when they are mad.

I hate it when Mom says "no"!

People cry when they are frustrated.

Again, frustrated about my diet!

People cry when they are happy.

People cry when they are blue.

Old blue eyes.
And blue lips.
And blue hair.
No wonder I wanna cry!

Need I continue?

I didn't think so.

In short, people cry to let something they are feeling out.

Crying is a release.

Kinda creepy.
Makes me wanna cry.

Now, some people are big criers and some are not.

I, personally, am a crier.

Sometimes I don't even really know exactly why I need "a good cry", but I just do and so I do it.

My middle son Noah seems to be the same way.

...although you would never guess it based on pretty much every photo I have of him.
He's like his mom...both a goof-ball and a crier.
We are being goof-balls here obviously!

I can tell when he is in need of a cry and is embarrassed about it because many still consider crying to be a sign of weakness.

Luckily for my son, I don't.

I get it.

So I call him over for a snuggle and tell him to let it out. He will burry his head into my arms and let his emotions take over.

Then sometimes he has something he wants to talk about or sometimes he just says something like "I don't know why I needed to cry Mommy...I guess I just had a long day."

And I look at him and say "I know exactly what you mean buddy. You always have my shoulder to cry on when you need it."

I am also a major sap.

When maple trees cry, their tears are made of sap.

Mmmm...Canadian maple syrup...made of maple tree tears!
EH!!!
This does NOT make me cry.
Except when I am dieting.
Then you can refer to the frustrated photo above!

I am as sappy as a maple tree peeps!
Maybe it's a Canadian thing, eh?

I mean - Hallmark commercials...cheesy TV shows...every, single time I watch ET...I am a mess!

This last scene of ET gets me every, single, frickin' time!

I also have those "I don't really know why I am crying" episodes more often that I am willing to admit to.

Usually, it is due to built up stress - and I am tellin' ya...I have a stress threshold and when I get close to that brink, crying is one of the requirements for not going over it.

If I don't let it out, this is what happens.
Except my waist does not get that small.
Otherwise, I would never cry again. ;)

I can feel it in my throat...almost a burning feeling...and a pounding in my chest.

If I am in a public place I know I have to find a quiet place to be alone. Generally, I am pretty good at keeping it together until I have my own space, but sometimes it ain't easy.

The point of this is to let you know that crying is a form of catharsis.

Oh Dawson...it will be OK.
(Cue the "Dawson's Creek" music montage! Enter Katie Holmes...go!)

It is normal and it is not a sign of being weak.

It is simply a sign of being human.

...or a cartoon of a human.

Or Dawson.

Smiles,

Lora