Crybabies are Cool

I am a big crybaby. Always have been. I recall moments watching Little House on the Prairie as a child when tears would begin to well up in my eyes and roll down my cheeks. I could always count on my dad crying with me. It was a big joke in my family. My dad and I were sobbers while the rest of the family remained hardened to whatever trauma was occuring on the television screen. This condition has worsened over the years because I not only have become a sympathy crier, but I now also weep at the silliest things...a school program, a gymnastics meet, even helping in my daughter's class. No trauma or pain has to be remotely involved.

This morning I cried watching my friends' children getting baptized. They were making the most important decision of their lives...meaningful moment. I teared up as the children's musical program began. All of the kids were speeding down the aisles and down the stairs to clamor up the risers as the music played. No one fell down and got hurt. No one was even singing a beautiful song, and I was dabbing at my eyes to keep the tears from seeping. Of course, this was my daughter's first musical as a big kid. And, I watched as she placed herself smack dab in the middle of her best friends. They looked like the 4 musketeers singing and dancing...all in a row...a tearful moment as I could fast forward in my mind already to the time when they'd be 5th graders standing on stage for their very last musical. I can even imagine them fighting for parts!

Watching Maddie belt out the words to the songs while she managed to swirl her hands or sway her little hips to the beat brought more wet spots, more dabbing, more sniffling. Tony kept looking at me like I was nuts. Nick was oblivious. As I actually listened to the words, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only son...that everyone who believes in him would have eternal life...", you can imagine what happened again. More crying. What moment in life could even begin to equate itself with this one? I was watching my tiny 6-year-old sing the most powerful words with absolute belief and passion. These moments are precious. They are but a blink, and they are over. I know because I have watched my two older children pave the way before her. They were the benefit of my first batch of tears.

The worst part about being a sap like me is that I never know when the tears are going to hit. They just suddenly show up. There's no warning like the siren signalling a tornado on its way. I can be at the grocery store, at a sporting event or watching a commercial when my eyes just start to water. It's a little embarrassing to try to explain this to those who see me in a public place in this condition. It's not like my life is falling apart. How do I explain to someone that the reason tears are coursing down my cheeks is because my daughter just did the most amazing vault and stuck it...and then she looked at me to see if I saw what she did? Or, something Beth Moore said in her Bible study resonated with my soul? Or, friends of mine from years ago sent an amazing amount of money to help my son raise his support for Guatemala?

So, I have just resigned myself to becoming more of a crybaby over the years and have decided that the way I'll deal with this phenomenon is to always carry tissues. After all, I must keep my face on through all the tears! If you happen to see my eyes a little wet, don't assume the worst. Why, I might've just consumed the most delicious nonfat decaf Peppermint Mocha I have ever ordered at Starbucks! The possibilities are endless.