Saturday, March 28, 2015

March 28: Writing Prompt #87- Happy Happy Joy Joy

We cry for lots of reasons: sadness, pain, fear . . . and happiness. When was the last time you shed tears of joy?
I’m a crier, and I probably shed a tear close to daily, usually when watching some movie, TV show, or even a commercial. YES, I am a commercial crier. Usually, those tears are tears of happiness, but sometimes they are tears of pain and sadness for what others have gone through or are going through or so often they are tears of both pain and happiness because they often go together…suffering can lead to joy in the end. 
When I was a teenager, I remember being in a Bible study class at church, and I was in tears over something sad or painful and a sweet friend of mine said something funny, trying to lighten the mood in the room, and he did. I started laughing through my tears, and he was amazed. He said, “How do you do that, cry and laugh at the same time?” He said he’d never seen anything like that before.  I know I had probably done that before, but I never thought about it in that way. 

So, the last time I shed tears of joy was TODAY while watching a movie on TV and tears of sadness were shed earlier this week when dealing with some difficult situations at work. Like I said, tears flow easily from my face, it’s a burden and a blessing. I am pretty much an open book, can’t hide how I feel, but it can also be that burden when I can’t control them in stressful situations. For example, just a couple of weeks ago, I cried in front of my son’s friends and their parents (who are really just acquaintances) out of embarrassment because I got my car stuck in their ditch at the end of the driveway. They were very gracious, thankfully, and even helped me get out of the ditch, but it was not my finest moment for sure. J  Does that mean I’ve come up with a new emotion associated with tears…the prompt doesn’t mention embarrassment, but I’ve nailed that one with salty tears too.  Oh, well, it’s just a part of who I am, and I’ve gradually adjusted to being okay with that.  How about you? 

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