Last night, my husband found me sitting on the couch watching television in a daze, my eyes red and puffy.
“Are you crying?”
“No.”
“Were you crying?”
(wipes nose, slips soggy tissue into shirt) “Uh….no, I most certainly was not.” (sniff) “Crying.”(sniff)
(a fat tear slides down my face)
“But it’s a commercial for car insurance.”
“I can’t help it, all right?! Just look at her!” (weeps) “Her name is Flo! FLO! She’s got a ridiculous beehive headband hairdo and she’s way too perky! I hate her with every fiber of my being! It’s so sad! Why do I dislike her so? I’m a terrible, terrible person!” (sobs)
“I need a beer.”
I’ve always been a big crier. When I was a little girl and witnessed any minor injustice at school–kids pushing other kids, kids not taking turns on the slide, kids not sharing their fruit roll-ups with me at lunch–I’d burst into tears. It was my go-to defense tactic. I was just an emotional kid. When my brother knocked my vanilla Jello pudding pop into a mud puddle on purpose, I sobbed uncontrollably for days. When I read that Pa Ingalls had to tell Laura her beloved dog, Jack had died, I cried for months on end. My ability to turn on the waterworks stayed with me throughout my entire life. Once in college, I sobbed while addressing a huge lecture class. There wasn’t even an exam that day.
You’d think I’d harden up, develop that cold cynical shell so many people seem to have once they reach middle age. My crying has only gotten worse. I cry while looking at baby photos of my kids. I sniffle at a stop light when a good song comes on the radio. I tear up when cantaloupes go on sale.
I really like cantaloupe.
I think crying is good for you. I think it means you’re a strong person, that you’re not afraid to feel genuine emotions or appear vulnerable to others.
No? It just means I’m simply a woman? It’s just too much estrogen?
Yeah. Maybe. I’m proud of my emotions. I like to feel things. I have empathy. So what? (soft sob) Is that so wrong? What are you trying to tell me? (sniff) Where’s that ****ing Kleenex?
My tears help connect me to the moment. They remind me of the blessings in life. Sure, I’m cheesy. I admit I’m wimpy. And okay, I’m sappier than that old commercial about Julie through the glass.
(If you don’t cry at this commercial you are nothing but an empty unfeeling robot)
We need to allow ourselves to show more of these sweet emotions in this cruel heartless world. I just wish I could control it better once the flood starts. If only I could be a little more selective in what makes me a pile of mush.
Yesterday I was on the sidelines of my son’s soccer game when it hit me: that was my son out there on the field. My son. Running and kicking and smiling and laughing. My son! I thought, with a tightness in my throat. I have a son! Look at him! He’s amazing and he’s my son! He’s a miracle!
Tears threatened the corners of my eyes like thunder clouds before a rainstorm. Hold it together, Darla. Yes, you’re a mom. He’s your son. No big whoop. He may be a miracle but…let’s be real here…he still doesn’t know how to make himself a bowl of cereal. And yesterday you found him singing in the mirror with his underwear on his head. Now, don’t you cry in front of the soccer coach. There’s no crying in soccer! There’s NO CRYING IN SOCCER! Don’t do it! No! C’mon….suck it up. Oh, for god’s sake, here it comes! Stop crying! Swallow those tears.! This is going to be embarrassing….hold it in….
Too late.
It may shock you to know my husband doesn’t cry much. Almost never. I think I saw a few tears come out of his eyes once–at the altar when we were about to get married. For all I know, he was crying about the impending loss of being single or had just sliced a huge onion.
“But I have dry eyes!” he protests. “It’s a real medical condition! I am not capable of crying! I have feelings! I swear! What? Don’t look at me like that! I can feel things! I just choose not to show it is all. Wait–what are you doing? Why do you have the tweezers? Get away from me!”
“Oh, c’mon…I just want to pluck one eyebrow. Just one. There’s got to be a tear in there somewhere and I’m gonna force that sucker out.”
Do you cry a lot? Or hardly ever? Ever in public? Or just in private over a beer? If so, what’s wrong with you anyway?
She's A Maineiac 
I like to think that I am pretty stoic and hard hearted, but depending on the situation, I can also be a blubberer. I think it might also depend on what cycle of the moon we are presently in. Just saying.
That Flo IS ungodly perky! You go ahead and cry if you need to Darla. I’ll be right here with some tissue. There there. Shhhhh.
I think I am always in a state of almost-crying, Misty. I’m on the verge every single minute of the day lately. Sure, i could blame it on the moon. But I have a feeling it’s hormonal at my age. My poor husband.
And Flo is ungodly perky!
sniff, sniff –this post made me cry….I there with you Darla, sniff for sniff
did you watch Julie through the glass? You did, didn’t you. Gets me every time.
Hi Darla, I want to be really careful with my reply! As I think you might get dehydrated if you keep on crying. 🙂 Let’s talk about happy things. Like hugs from your children. Hugs make you feel happy, right? Hugs that everyone keeps telling me are going to taper off once they get older. Which of course you want them to do. Get older, that is, not stop with the hugging. Oh no — is the hugging really going to stop? My daughter burst out of preschool last week and charged at me so fast she knocked me over! Isn’t she going to do that in high school? Always? Isn’t she going to run up to me and scream “Mommy!” with such a crazed-happy grin on her face my whole body bursts with happiness right back? No! I don’t want these days to end! Snifffff! Where’s those tissues? Hope you saved some for me.
That’s just it, Melissa. It’s the GOOD things that make me cry the most. All this appreciating my blessings and all….makes me cry like a baby. I can’t help it. I really do have the best life, y’know? And, yes, our daughters will come around after the dreaded teen years and give us all the hugs and love we deserve. And then we can share a pint of ice cream and cry over old movies.
Are you too young to remember watching Lassie on Sunday nights? I cried during every episode. “Girl! Go get help!” ….open flood gates…..sob….
I’m not too young! Lassie did it for me, too. So did the Brady Bunch when Marsha got hit with that football. Cruel brothers teasin’ her and all. Really made me bawl.
I always THOUGHT I was an old softy, but the Marsha/football episode made me laugh. Like, a lot. So maybe not so much of an old softy.
Reblogged this on time2sh1ne.
You hate Flo?! You ARE a terrible person! I thought I knew you. The part about bawling in class really got me! I’d love to hear that whole story.
I’m so glad you’re not afraid (usually) to let the waterworks flow! My reaction to anything – anger, sadness, frustration, fear, etc. – is to cry, and I’ve always felt like it held me back. Especially careerwise. I recently had a meltdown at work and I’m still embarrassed, even though it turned out fine.
The lecture bawl. Oh boy. Not good. I’ll have to email you the story about that one.
I used to feel like my sappy emotions were viewed by others as weak, but y’know what? I’d rather feel things than walk about all pissed off all the time and so jaded and cynical that you’re just empty of all emotions. (I’ve felt like that too before, not good) I was known as a crier all my life, Jules. I suppose it’s because I CAN put myself in another person’s place so easily, I can almost feel what they’re feeling. How can you not?
That is what will make you an excellent nurse, Missy. Although I can tell you there will be plenty of opportunity for tears. Feeling others’ pain or the ability to put yourself in another person’s place is a burden sometimes…and there will be times you’ll want to steel yourself against it, and times you will give into it. Either way is okay.
I am a crier. A big-time crier. And like you, joy is just as likely to turn on the waterworks as sadness. Unfortunately, I am not a dainty, delicate crier. I am a snot-dripping red-eyed, puffy faced-crier. It ain’t pretty.
These last few weeks I have been very weepy. I attribute it to being homesick, missing fall, and too much ice cream. It also depends on whether I have slept. When we ever get together some day down the road, there better be a big supply of tissues on hand, if Peg hasn’t tucked them all up her sleeve.
I’m relieved you think so about being a nurse. It’s really the main reason I want to be in that profession. I love people, I want to help them. Simple. I’m sure I will be affected by certain patients– I only hope I can keep professional about things. I do have a pretty gruff exterior when I want to (I’m from Maine after all)
Like you, I am a MESS when I cry. If it’s just a few tears, I’m okay, but if it really starts pouring out of me, my face puffs up like a blow fish. If we meet in real life, between you, me and Peg, we’ll have to make sure we just have too good of a time together to bother with the Kleenex (well…until I have to say goodbye to you guys!)
If there was a litmus test for cry-babies , I could serve as a standard: As we found your crying behavior to be commensurate with that of Aparna, within statistical limits, we hereby declare you a cry baby.
But, seriously, I face the same problems you do. The more I try to control them, the more furiously they gush out. It feels better to cry sometimes, but I do wish I had better control over it.
I always tell myself I’ll feel better just to get it out. There was a long time in my life when I didn’t cry much. I was just too dang busy to slow down and feel things, if that makes sense. My daughter is five and she cries more than I ever did. She cried when her best friend (a little boy) was reprimanded by the teacher at school. She told me she cried, and when I asked her why and she said, “I was sad for him. So I cried. Because I like to cry!”
I can totally relate to your daughter, and I am not ashamed to say that. Even today, when I feel helpless about something or someone, I take solace in crying.
That’s right. Never feel any shame in having empathy or showing true emotions. Not in this world. We need more of it! I’m proud my kids are sensitive like me. My son is probably even more sensitive than my daughter. It does make for a more painful life in some ways though.
I truly hope that the pervasive intolerance towards men/boys’ crying is banished completely.
Absolutely!
I’ve read that tears are a way of dropping our guard and tapping into a place deep inside. I don’t cry often, but I wonder if by my age the place deep inside simply says, “We’ve been here before, we’ve cried about this before. Move on.”
So true, Margie. I think there are certain times in your life when you really feel you’ve cried enough, there are no more tears left. You’ve closed that door and moved on.
Oh Darla, even when you’re crying, you’re funny. Wait, that may not sound right. You’re not alone! I cry over little things too, including commercials. There is nothing wrong with being emotional and feeling empathy. I cry all the time over things that happened to someone else, even people I don’t know. It’s probably much worse to be one of those people who CAN’T cry. 😉
PS: I don’t like Flo either.
That’s it, Lily. Like most people, it’s so hard to even watch the news these days or read the paper. The emotions take over and I’m a babbling mess!
Omigosh! I have never seen that commercial before. “Julie Julie Julie…” I teared up. I’ll admit it. But I cry at “Kleenex says: Bless You” commercials.
Meanwhile, who gives birth and looks so freakin’ good the next day? That’s bull$hit, and now I’m pissed. And no one gets to walk out of the hospital anymore. You get wheeled out. After you show you have a good child seat.
I wonder if Julie got pregnant at 16. 😉
I can’t believe no one recognizes that commercial. Jim was watching it and he doesn’t remember it at all. He asked me, “What are they selling?” and I said, “I don’t know. Jesus’s love?”
Your last line made me snort my pumpkin coffee. Poor Julie.
As a kid, I was a cry-baby. Not a good look for boys. Twenty years ago, crying boys were jeered at and made to cry even more. Even today, studies show that parents take longer to pick up a crying infant if it’s male.
Now I’ve hardened. I still think I’m very emotional, but I can’t cry unless something really really hurts me.
You sound like my husband. He’s actually an extremely sensitive man. Maybe as much as I am! ( sensitive, not a man) But it takes a lot for tears to fall. He’ll start to sniffle, then suck it up and it goes away. Must be nice. I wish I could do that.
You’re are not alone in this one. I think I cry almost once a week: when I’m happy, frustrated, angry, any strong emotion and the waterworks just start. My guy isn’t much for tears either – maybe they really are robots… 😉
So you get it. I cry once a week without fail. It’s when I watch Long Island Medium. She talks to the dead! How can you not cry watching that??!! lol
I cry at the drop of a hat. I’ve always been a sensitive person, but it has gotten a bit more serious recently as I’ve been going through a rough transitional period in my life. Out walking my dog on a perfectly beautiful day not too long ago? There I am, ready to randomly burst into tears thinking about my awful, high stakes math test that’s coming up, that last job interview I had and did it go OK, oh my god I’m a failure at age 39…the rest of the time I’m actually quite a well-adjusted person, I swear!
ha! Yeah! That is ME in a nutshell. Must be something about hitting midlife? My 30s, I didn’t cry so much. Now, things start to hit me. I only have half my life left to live! My kids are growing up! I’m 42 and have no clue what I want to be when I grow up! That sunset is so pretty! Yeah…I cry a lot now. So good to know that you know what I mean.
And just as I finish your post, the little ad window shows a Porsche Boxster commercial.
You bet I’m crying. ‘Cause at the rate I’m going, the only way I’ll ever drive a Porsche is to steal one. And THAT is some stuff to cry over! 😀
(Yes, I am getting more weepy as I get older. Strange things set me off, though. I watched “Curiosity” on Discovery Channel purposely crash a Boeing 727 for science, and I got misty when the poor old bird bit the dust – literally. That’ll make a lot more sense when I get around to posting about a romantic foggy evening I spent with a B-17. 😉 )
Well, if there’s anything my husband might cry over, it’s seeing a plane bite the dust. I should definitely see about taping that special you mentioned.
I try not to watch TOO much about civilian airplane crashes. Stems from my having been on the scene of the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 back in 1979. Sometimes I get that smell in my nostrils when I’m watching programs, and I have to shut the TV off. There’s one photo of that wreck that really haunts me, because I was standing next to the guy who took it – a field of debris, with the only recognisable airplane part being one main landing gear, with one tire burning. That’s one of those memories you wish you could UN-remember…..
Oh! Now when it comes to actual plane disasters, I am a huge crybaby. Whenever we watch one of those reenactments on TV, I can’t take it. I almost can’t watch. I can feel every emotion and imagine myself on that plane and what those people must have gone through. I am so sorry you saw that firsthand. Beyond traumatic.
As a kid, I was pretty repressed and didn’t cry much. It’s an extremely rare movie that will make me cry; I can only think of one and it was “My Sister’s Keeper”. However, I do cry sometimes while writing or listening to music. So, I suppose that means writing is cathartic… or that I’m making up for lost time.
I’ve never seen My Sister’s Keeper! I’ll have to check that out now. And I also cry A LOT when I write. This is why I’ve stopped writing my more serious posts. Usually I end up drenching the keyboard.
Every since I had my son, I cry at everything. I don’t dare watch Extreme Home Makeover with anyone else in the room. Yes, I’m a crybaby, too.
Oh, that show is bad for crying. My son LOVES that show by the way. He doesn’t cry when he watches it though (typical)
How could you subject me to “Julie Through The Glass” like that! I’m at WORK for goodness sake. I’ve got to be powerful and in charge and you KNOW how my face gets all read and blotchy with even the tiniest waterworks.
And I absolutely loathe Flo to the point where I turn the channel whenever she comes on, except whatever channel I turn to, she’s there, too. Unless it’s the Esurance commercial “born on line, majors in efficiency”…what does that even MEAN? Both of those commercials just hound me!
Anyhoo, yes. I cry at everything – anytime, anywhere, no matter what. I think I did a post about this recently, but I can’t remember and that (sniff, sniff), really makes me….SAD!
Oh, I know about you and your crying, I was channeling you when I wrote this post. Your post really stirred something inside, made me all mushy and sentimental.
Whenever Flo comes on, I just scream into a pillow. Then cry until it’s over. Do you remember that Julie commercial? No one seems to…I used to bawl at that commercial when I was a little girl because I knew back then I would have a daughter one day and call her Julie. *weeping*
I cry when I’m angry. It was really hard to make a point to my boss when I started crying. He’d panic about a girl crying in his office and stop hearing me. And I’d just get more and more angry and cry more and more. And if it isn’t bad enough that I’m crying, my eyes turn red and I have very light green eyes so it gets hard for people to make eye contact with the bright alien eye thing I have going on.
Lately commercials have made me well up. My body has clearly decided that it is ready to breed even if I’m not, so it’s forcing me into girly overdrive. Babies, family dinners, little boys doing anything…tears. Oy.
I am thankful I don’t cry much when I’m angry. It’s probably the only time I don’t cry. I do get very upset though and my heart will race and my breathing gets rapid and I start blubbering my words. I also have very light blue eyes (almost gray) so they well up and get red really fast. My eyes give me away all the time with my emotions. I love your term ‘girly overdrive’ with the babies and family stuff…I am beyond that, but still feel the hormones kicking in at my age. It’s no picnic, that’s for sure.
Yes, yes, goshdarnit and jeezum crow, YES! Last night on DWTS (the one prime time show I truly schedule for Maycee and I to watch each week) they featured a young man who was from Harlem and wanted to go to college, to be the first in his family. He got excellent grades in school and ended up getting accepted to a university, however, he couldn’t afford the cost. He worked multiple part-time jobs, etc, and still couldn’t pay his bills, so he started tap dancing in subway stations for money. He learned to tap when he was 16 or so. This extra cash paid for his tuition and his books. When he finished his routine last night, which was so spectacular no matter what type of dancing you like, he was brought to tears with emotion. He was crying. How could ANYONE not cry over that?! Well, I was anyways, like a huge baby, and I just wanted to hug him. Anyhow, I empathize…I cry over songs on the radio, commercials, Maycee walking to her class in the morning (any day), riding my horse, you name it. Funny SWM-factoid? When I was little my mom called me “cold-hearted” because I didn’t cry (at age, uh, 6 or 7 maybe) during the movie “The Champ” (God Bless Ricky Schoeder). Little did she know what would develop…:-)
Jeezum crow! See, I would be a mess if I watched that show. And watching the kids walk to class! Oh yeah. That gets me teary every time. Especially when my son grabs my daughter’s hand! Mush-city!
I’ve never seen The Champ. Wow, where have I been? Ricky Schoeder? Loved him!
Listen up Darla, that was a freaky-ass commercial and if I cried it was out of fear. Seriously. And was that Barbra Streisand? Odd. I cry. Not often because I’m on so many meds I don’t get THAT happy or THAT sad, but I do cry alright. Mostly it’s about the same time that my boobs start to hurt and I crave super large Target sized boxes of Jr. Mints.
Now that you mention it, that was a very creepy commercial. I don’t cry watching it either, I just laugh at the poor quality. I hear you on the painful boobs and Junior Mints. But my problem is I feel like that every frickin day.
Oh goodness, MLB cries at every Hallmark card commercial (the old ones especially), anytime she sees something about kids getting older, sappy Christmas movies, etc.
Ha, and she also loathes Flo. It’s pretty funny how hostile she gets at poor Flo. 🙂
Me, on the other hand, I’ve been called insensitive a time or two, but I’m very sentimental and have had a tear well up during a sad part of a movie (must be my allergies, hehehe).
I think most women hate Flo. Most men think she’s cute. Well, my husband does, anyway. I think his eyesight is going along with his hearing.
Total sap here! I cry at the Folgers commercial “Oh Peter you’re home!,” The National Anthem, when the grandkids hug me and when the boys say something nice. I cry listening to music, reading a book *never read Marley & Me .. total sobfest* and more.
The good thing? Hubbs cries, too. And, guess what? When he cries … then I cry!
Geez
🙂 MJ
I remember that commercial! ha! And I could imagine when your grandkids hug you that you melt. I can’t wait to have grandkids one day…sigh. I have read Marley and Me and cried so hard the pages were dripping.
I remember reading the ending of that book in bed one Sunday morning and when Hubbs saw me later -based on my puffy eyes and red nose – he thought there had been a family emergency. Geez.
MJ
I bet! If I cry too hard and for too long, I look like death warmed over for days afterward.
I go through phases where the littlest thing can make me sob. It’s gotten better since Oprah went off the air.
Ha! Oh, totally! Oprah. Pffft. Course my mom still gives me copies of her magazine so I can weep over articles on how to improve my life. My life is never good enough for Oprah.
I cry at everything. Happy, sad, uncomfortable, angry, even laughing too hard…at commercials, movies, songs, books, real life, you name it! It’s kind of a joke in my group of friends now, if anyone feels even remotely sad during a movie they all turn to stare at me to see if I’ve started crying yet lol.
Y’know, that makes me wonder if I do have a medical condition. The opposite of my husband’s dry eyes. Because I cry when I laugh too. Tears will pour down. Very odd. My husband also stares at me when something sad is on TV because he’s just waiting to see that tear slide down. The more I tell myself to hold it in, the more I cry.
Haha, I’m the same way! It must be a medical condition that we both have. *whew* this makes me feel better 😛
I have to admit, I did not cry at the Julie Through the Looking Glass thing. But that’s probably because I have not one maternal bone in my body. However, I’m a very proficient at crying too. Mainly at anything having to do with animals being harmed–even if said animals are computer generated. For instance, I bawled uncontrollably at Godzilla and Jurassic Park during the scenes where they were trying to kill Godzilla/various dinosaurs. The guy I was dating at the time thought I was insane, sitting in the movie theater sobbing my guts out. But I agree that being able to cry makes you stronger and more in touch with your feelings. Even if it is seen as a sign of weakness by some people (what do they know anyway).
Well, before kids, anything to do with animals certainly made me a weepy mess. I’ve had dogs and cats my entire life, pets that were more important to me and more loved than some people I’ve known in my life. So I totally agree with you. That Sarah McLachlan commerical? I’ve never seen more than a few seconds, I just have to turn the channel. (I really hate the song, too)
Okay…as I began reading this, I said to myself, “Bullhockey.!!! Darla had brothers who knew how to torture a younger sister. She survived Maine winters, and teachers crabbier than Cruella DeVille. She’s tuff. She doesn’t cry at the drop of a hanky.”
Then you mentioned…hormones. Okay. Yup. Our tear ducts are defenseless in a smack down with a big vat of estrogen. (Perhaps you might want to pee on a stick and see if it changes color? That can account for extra hormones)
You know me pretty well, Barb. You are right, I am from Maine so I have that tough, gruff exterior for sure. My brothers really did toughen me up in many ways. But they also teased me so much that now I always root for the underdog in any situation. I think that’s why I can feel what other people feel so easily. That and hormones. Mine due to the impending menopause variety. The pregnancy ship has sailed away years ago.
Hooray. Goodbye unexpected surprises. Cronedom, when it comes is really quite satisfying. I agree with Margie, the stage comes when “you’ve already been down that road.” You know you’ll survive and the tears dry up. For all those reasons, you’ll be the kind of nurse that gives psychological as well as physical relief. Keep keeping your heart tender (and thanks for taking us along with you.)
I am already in the early stages of cronedom and I am loving it so far. Thanks for the sweet comments about nursing. I certainly hope I can bring more healing to people in general. That is my ultimate goal. And thank you for coming along this ride with me, Barb. Your comments really give me strength.
“Beep-whistle-boop-whistle.”
“What’s that Ape2-D2? You were waiting for some sort of left field punch line in that Mormon video?”
“Whistle-boop-whistle-beep.”
“Haha. I agree your ending is much funnier.”
“Boop-whistle-beep-whistle.”
“Now that’s just disturbing Ape2. I hope you don’t kiss your mother with that RJ-45 port. Can’t take you anywhere.”
I wish that commercial could be remade to include your ending! I can only imagine what Ape2-D2 would have conjured up. I have to admit I giggled at the commercial quite a bit. I intended to write this post tongue-in-cheek but it just turned out way too cheesy. hard to tread that line between the two….
Oh, my God, Pa Ingalls and little “Jack”! Now, I’m sniffling again…..!
Listen, I cry just thinking about the images of my kids as babies. I cry over songs constantly. I cry when I’m reading out loud to my class!
I think its sweet. All the eye rolling from all the fifth graders in the world doesn’t change that. Its sweet, I tell you, sweet!
Pass the tissues?
Aw! You cry reading to your class? You get me, you really get me. The eye-rolling is something my son does now and he’s only 10. I teared up a little when he got a soccer goal last week. If he knew he would have been mortified. I am such a sap.
You should see me in a room full of singing children; doesn’t matter what song it is, I get all teary and blubbery!
I have a great book called “Mr. Lincoln and his Boys” and every year I have to hand it off to a kid to read when I get to the part where little Willie dies……!
Aw, I bet you do. When I worked in an elementary school and the kids did their Christmas concert I was pretty much a huge mess of tears.
I cannot listen to the song ‘Christmas Shoes’ – you know the one where the kid is trying to buy new shoes for his dying mother so that she will look pretty when she meets Jesus. Oh boy, tears every time. People think I’m cruel because I turn the station, leave the store, whatever it takes to escape the tear producing lyrics. Yikes!
There are certain songs that always make me sob. I’ll be listening to it and have to concentrate really hard not to cry. Imagine by John Lennon is one of them. Always gets me.
I’m not a cryer. But, then again, I avoid any movies or news stories that involve the harming of pets. Cruelty to animals can bring on a gusher.
I am with you on that for sure, Jean. It’s a combination of extreme sadness and anger.
Its okay, I have a commercial that use to get me every time. McDonalds no less. Kid staring in the mirror while parents and grandparents are in the background cooing over new baby. Someone says ‘look at those blue eyes’. Kid says all sad and despondent, ‘I had blue eyes first’.
My waterworks begin.
Dad notices kid and takes him to McDonalds. The End
McDonald’s! Oh those crafty evil people. Playing with our emotions so we’ll buy a happy meal.
Darla, you are a Highly Sensitive Person–just like me. It’s an actual condition. Google it. I even wrote a post about or two about it. You are not alone. People making fun of your condition does NOT help–but I’m sure you’ve noticed and had a god cry about that. I have!
I will have to check that out for sure, Lorna. I am highly sensitive. Yeah. It’s not my fault!
Great post, Darla. I used to be a huge crier. Ironically, I still feel things deeply but cry less often. My partner Sara, who some might consider more matter of fact than me, actually cries more than me. Weird reversal.
Hugs,
Kathy
That is a good point, Kathy. Just because you don’t cry actual tears doesn’t mean you don’t feel something deeply. I know for a fact my husband feels things as much as I do (if not more) he just feels he doesn’t have permission to cry because he’s a man.
I am not a crier per se. I can’t remember the last time I did the shoulder-heaving bawling type of cry. Maybe a couple years ago. But I am constantly (constantly!) finding my eyes welling up over anything and everything. Sad things, happy things, everything. At least every day there will be something in the newspaper that will make my eyes glaze over. I cannot listen to NPR StoryCorps anymore. Period. It ruins my eye make-up.
And what the hell, Cosby pudding pops? Look how tiny they are! These have got to be “snack-size” pudding pops. These are not the pudding pops from my memory. Today that’d never fly. They’d be the size of a compact car today. Good god, what’s happened to our society? Oh, great…here come the waterworks.
Yes–the constant welling up. I do that. ALL the time. I can manage to wipe my tears away if I concentrate hard enough. I wouldn’t say I bawl that much. Maybe once a week.
I was thinking of you when I put the pudding pops up there. and yeah, I’ve also never tried ‘peanut butter chocolate swirl’ before. Maine was so behind the times. All we had was vanilla. I wish I could have one right now. I’m gonna cry.
Do you know that Julie commercial? I am dying to know if ANYone remembers it. Surely, YOU must…right? I can call you Shirley, right?
I don’t! Noooooooooooo! I’ve failed you!
This makes me so sad.
I’m also one of those people who cries at something even slightly sad. It’s… frustrating. I can’t say things aloud that I’m sad about because it causes my voice to crack and eyes to well up. And sad songs? cue the waterworks! Yeah, there’s a reason there’s a box of kleenex in my car… and at my desk… and in various spots throughout the house.
That is the worst when your throat catches and you can hear your voice cracking. Oh, it’s so embarrassing. Sometimes I wish I could harden up more and just not care so much about things. Maybe once I’m an old lady I’ll finally grow into being more cranky.
I’m a total sap when it comes to books or TV or movies. Real life? I only cry when I’m mad — which of course makes me lose the battle. Damn these cryin’ eyes!
Oh, that is too bad. When I get mad, laser beams shoot out of my eyes. It can get pretty messy. Sorry I comment bombed your blog today. It was fun though!
You’re always welcome at my blog, Darla! Chat it up as much as you’d like!
Uh oh. You are in trouble now. I love you, Elyse! You really are the center of wordpress and all it’s freshly pressedednesses…
I cried at the endings of both episodes of Modern Family last night.
Oh, weren’t those the BEST episodes?!! Oh my god, I laughed so hard at Phil’s almost-vasectomy. And how Cam’s paisley shirt matched the drapes. And when she cut off that girls hair by accident–I think I cried and laughed. I love that show so much.
All day long we’ve been quoting Phil’s-osophy: “You can learn a lot about a person by reading their biography.” “When life gives you lemonade, make lemons. Life will be all like, ‘What?!?'”
“Life would be all like, WHAT?!” That kills me. I love Phil. Phil reminds me of my husband so much. Goofy, but has his heart in the right place.
I love this post. Love!!
I rarely if ever cry over my life. But even think about mentioning a Hallmark commercial to me, and I’m sobbing. Same with songs, movies, tv shows, books, comic strips, cereal boxes, reading about you watching your son play soccer. It’s bad. Really, really bad. The worst of all, unexpected kindness. Can’t handle that at all. Nope. No way.
But, BUT! I remember when I never cried. Not ever. And what it took was Peter making it home for Christmas in that Folger’s commercial. Seriously. Even watching it on youtube, now, has me teary.
About a year ago, I heard a discussion of a book that knocked the wind out of me, and blogged about it. I’ve copied it to my blog here. What’s wrong with me? Well… nothing. 😀
(Did I mention I LOVE this post?!?)
That Peter making it home for Christmas gets me every time, too. This time of year in general makes me so sentimental. Families getting together for Thanksgiving…kids opening Christmas presents….me, eating my third slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top…I get so teary.
I loved your post! Especially the line,
What we would all be
if the big door inside us flew open.
PS – Sorry 🙂
I see your “Julie Through The Glass” and raise you “Love Of My Life” (it is her son playing guitar…)
Aw! So sweet. Love Carly Simon.
Oh yes, I cry a bunch! Can’t help it at times. The worst was when I cried when I got laid off. I couldn’t help it. They gave me 30 minutes to clear out my stuff. I felt so disrespected I couldn’t help but cry!
Well, if there would be any time crying would be acceptable it would be then. Sorry that had to happen to you.
Darla, you need to put a disclaimer on that video. “If you just sent your kid off to college, then don’t watch this.”
Sniff….sniff…now I have to go Skype.
It’s the same reason I can never get through the ending of Toy Story 3. I am a blubbering mess no matter how hard I try to fight back the tears. Just imagining my son going off to college is enough for me.
I can certainly relate, Darla. I cry during intergenerational commercials, songs that trigger moments from the past. You name it, the tear ducts are ready to open the flood gates.
Oh, yeah. Music is the worst. I can start weeping as soon as a certain song starts!
Damn. I didn’t get the memo that there’s no crying in soccer. Lost it at my youngest son’s first game. BUT I watched that commercial and didn’t sob. Projected my inward robot.
Yeah, that commercial just makes me laugh now.
Isn’t it hard watching your kids sometimes? I always feel on the verge of crying.(Sometimes from frustration) but mostly from gratitude….
Great post! I have a habit of crying at Hallmark commercials and I, too, couldn’t make it through an episode of Little House on the Prairie without crying. Last year, I read a book to my son’s 1st grade class call “I’ll Love You Forever.” I would suggest NEVER reading this in front of anyone. It creates a festival of tears.
Oh, I have that book. It is terrible. I can’t even get halfway through it. Little House was my go-to crying show growing up. I’d cry when Laura got a stick of gum for Christmas. I cried when she pushed mean ol’ Nellie Olsen down the hill in her wheelchair (really, that was pretty darned mean)
Lorna’s right, Darla: you’re a Highly Sensitive Person. Only it isn’t a condition, which sounds like something that needs to be cured. It’s a personality trait, and the world needs more of it.
Yeah! I’m just highly sensitive, makes total sense. When will people see it as a good thing? I’m still waiting…in the meantime…I cry at the hopelessness of it all.
All I keep thinking is…man, I really miss Puddin’ Pops.
Me, too. Truly, it’s one of life’s biggest tragedies. My favorite was the chocolate-vanilla swirl.
I cried at all commercials when I was pregnant. Oh lord waterworks…
Yes i cried watching julie julie mainly because my daughter just got married last month. Time flies and suddenly you’re watching your daughter – YOUR daughter getting married? Oh man luckily I put my hankie in Mr F’s pocket. (One of the hardest things I’ve ever done is write my blog post about her wedding…)
I can only imagine how much crying I’ll do when my kids graduate high school or college. But getting married? I won’t be able to get through it, Rosie.
I hardly ever cry, but when I do, the floodgates open and I can’t shut it off. Things that make me cry are almost always kid-related (baby gets a boo-boo, she cries, I cry). When I drink beer, I get funny (my kids tell me) or belligerent (my sister-in-law tells me) or fun (my husband tells me). But I never cry, unless I’m laughing so hard I also pee my pants.
Belligerent? ooh!! Do tell! I get very weepy when I start to drink. Then I get a bit testy when the effect wears off. Of course, at my age, all it takes is one beer and I’m toast.
I’ll save the “belligerent” story for the phone. All is (kinda) well from that one, but it never will be quite the same again between us! She got the 100% un-filtered version of her beloved husband’s crazy sister.
Oh, god– I cry at *everything*. I think it’s a reflex. Either that, or it’s indicative of some super-advanced genetics. Perhaps. On Tuesday, I turned on the TV at random just in time to hear that Obama had been re-elected. I sobbed for the rest of the evening, and when Marty mustered up enough courage to remind me that I should be HAPPY, I got all misty-eyed again thinking about how emotional I was back in 2008 when Obama first won. I’m Canadian, but based on my emotions alone, I should probably be Obama’s mother. So proud!
I think I’ll go with your explanation of ‘super-advanced genetics’. And I felt the same about the election. Not only was he re-elected, but Maine chose an independent senator and passed gay marriage by popular vote. I have to admit, I watched the results late that night and did tear up! I’ve never felt that positive about politics before.