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Why the Tears?
This has never happened before. Why now?
I’ve never been prone to crying. I am a “guy”, after all! Normally it would take quite a trauma to bring tears to my eyes. At least that is how my life has been up until the past six months. So why do I find myself stifling tears several times a week as I go about daily business and living?
Tears might come at the end of a movie. The ending of White Christmas, when everyone is so happy for the general, and I’m a choked-up mess! A beautiful sunrise. Deer at my birdfeeders. A sappy commercial on TV. My sister’s voice saying goodbye on the phone. My husband simply leaving for an errand. None of these incidents seem related. But each one has brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes. Why did these things make me cry?
I’ve had lots to cry about during my years. All of us certainly have. At five years old my earliest hard cry was when our sweet neighbor lady died. Old Missus Jimerson always had a kind word and a piece of hard candy when we pushed our way onto her porch or into her front room. Her house was always dark and had a musty smell. But she loved having us visit. She was our “neighbor grandma”.
My mother found her dead in her chair one day. I’m sure to my mother it was an expected part of life. Old Missus Jimmerson had no family left, and my mother was the only one to look after her. My mom…
