In haste, this one. Half memoir, half fiction. You decide which bits are which! (Clue: It’s not the topsoil)
Crying
I never understood why Mum cried at the end of movies. The characters lived happily ever after, defeated the monster or even occasionally died… I just scoffed popcorn and ran off. Mum would sit, quietly sniffing; ashamed of the tears, but unable to stop them.
Shame’s a shitty feeling, but those other emotions – relief, happiness, sadness – that spilled from her eyes, those feelings are real and pure and nobody should need to hide them behind a handkerchief or an adjustment of the glasses. These days, I can cry at an advert for topsoil. If Mum were here, we’d cry together.
elmowrites 
Lovely
Thanks!
For me, it’s a parent thing. Since having kids, tears every time when there’s a sad or even a happy ending! Lovely memories 🙂
Yes, definitely seems to have enhanced with age and the advent of small parts of my heart walking around on their own!
Great take on the prompt, and beautifully written. Almost anything done really well can prompt the catharsis of tears, don’t you think?
Catharsis is the word, Penny. I don’t think it’s a bad thing and yes, anything done well can be a trigger
I think when Im tired i’m more emotional, which is pretty much all the time these days! Good stuff
Oh gosh, yes. Everything feels bigger when I’m tired.
I’ve gotten more leaky as the years have passed.
I’m only going one way on this street, Tracey! By the time I’m retired, I can only assume I’ll be a puddle.
Crying for joy is the best kind of crying.
Amen to that!
I welled up just reading this, well done!
Here’s mine!
haha, very meta.
I’m an easy crier as well – movies, books, topsoil adverts. 😉
It’s nice to have company!
Okay. So I have emotions. Great movie: no sex, violence, or foul lingo; they kissed halfway through. Almost boring, but I loved it and maybe a tear or two. Here’s to Mum. 🙂
Emotions are good. Especially when properly expressed, and tears are a whole lot healthier than a lot of the alternatives.
Lots to cry about these days.
A most touching and heartfelt story. Indeed, as we age we become more likely to understand what we didn’t when we were young!
Thank you!
so lovely, definitely resonates with me 🙂
Thanks, poet!
Beautiful story!
Cheers, Brenda
Tears are not a sign of weakness. The Mum sounds like an empathic soul. Well done!
They are not, indeed. Thank you
It shows how some films provide emotional relief in our sometimes busy stressful days.
I think emotional relief is exactly what it is. Sometimes it’s easier to let go over fiction than reality.
Lovely portrait of Mum, and I really like how the daughter becomes closer to her by the end. There’s a beautiful sense of love, and a sense of loss too.
I’m glad you felt the closeness that comes with understanding. Perhaps that’s the human condition
Amen to what you say. I can definitely relate to that between my mom and I. My sons have seen me cry plenty at movies as well but so far I haven’t seen them tear up (maybe they hide it well…)
Boys should cry too, but I agree, mine are less teary than Grandma and me
i guess we’ve become emotional as we get older. such is life.
Indeed it is.
My brother was the leaky one. And somehow, that made it so much worse for both of us. For him, that he was a boy, and for me, that it made me look like a tough cookie when in reality I wasn’t. Lovely story, Jen.
I can imagine the challenges on both sides of that one, Sandra.
/dear Jen,
Some of those adverts can get very poignant, can’t they? There’s nothing more enjoyable than crying over a good movie. I’d like your mum. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Sometimes the adverts outshine the show! I think you and my Mum would get on well.