Today is Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day. I know it sounds ridiculous. But it’s also Get Out Your Guitar Day, Extraterrestrial Visitor Day, and Pro Sports Wives Day – all of which make Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day sound pretty normal.
I do tend to cry over spilled milk, even when I know my tears will not accomplish anything. There’s just something cathartic about a good cry, whether the tears are ones of joy or sadness. So instead of biting my lip and holding them in, today I’m going to embrace the tears.
1. Wiping out in front of the entrance to the Beauty and the Beast show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
I tripped over my own feet and broke my fall with my right knee. There’s a reason kids scream bloody murder when they skin their knees – it hurts like hell. A nice man helped me up, which deepened my embarrassment. The only plus was that my family was already in the theater; I was able to cry privately in front of hundreds of strangers.
2. Handwritten birthday or Mother’s Day cards from my kids.
Gwen in particular writes tearjerkers; they are beautiful. I know she wouldn’t want me to share, so I’ll quote a card from James from when he was eight or nine.
“Dear Mom,
You are always bright and shining. You are right next to me. You are the best mom ever.
Love, James”
3. Tripping on the steps in the garage as I tried to walk into the house.
I fell backwards and banged my head on the passenger door of the minivan. If you think that’s not something that should make me cry, you should know that my head dented the car door. Try explaining that to your husband: “Honey, I had an accident today and dented the car…WITH MY HEAD.” Amazingly, my head was not dented, but who knows what kind of internal damage it caused.
4. My children showing love for one another.
Last weekend, James’ religious school class led Shabbat services, and they each spoke about a person who is a light in their lives. He didn’t want to hurt Matt’s feelings by picking me (sarcasm – or is it?), so he spoke about his sister. I started crying before the end of the first sentence.
5. Wiping out in New Orleans.
Are you picking up on a theme here? A bump in the sidewalk in front of my hotel jumped right out at me and I went down. My forearms and elbows broke the fall, and I managed to hold it together until I got back to the room. Then I proceeded to blubber like a baby as I patched myself up – I could barely see through the tears. I have a scar on my left elbow as a souvenir.
6. Writing.
Sometimes I will write a post that evokes a great deal of emotion. I may cry as I type it, but I always cry as I read it aloud. A few that come to mind are I Willl Never Let Go First, This is Why I Love You: A Birthday Message to my Son, and my guest post at Eli’s about my greatest fears as a mother.
It’s no coincidence that the posts that make me cry have to do with my children – they are my outside hearts.
7. Raw onions.
Even cutting one in half can get me started. I’ve tried all the tricks to prevent the tears, but they are useless. Holding a piece of bread in my mouth doesn’t stop the tears and burning; it just makes me gag on soggy bread.
8. Forrest Gump.
Two of the scenes that make me cry: the one where Forrest meets his son for the first time, and the one when he talks to Jenny at her grave. I’m almost crying now just thinking about it.
I’m running out of material, and I don’t want to list any more examples that highlight my complete lack of grace and balance. Music can bring me to tears too, so the last two are songs that always make me cry.
9. Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin.
Even as a child, I was moved by this song. As a parent who can’t hold on tight enough to make time stop, I’m crying by the first chorus.
10. For Good.
The final song in Wicked, as two best friends say goodbye. There’s a video in this post if you want to listen. Glinda sings my favorite line of the whole show:
I’ve heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn. And we are led to those who help us most to grow, if we let them, and we help them in return.
Whew. Remember #6? Add this post to the list – writing it was just a big cathartic cry-fest.
Next February 11th I’ll write about Extraterrestrial Visitor Day – that will be a dry-eyed post for sure.
good, i’m glad i’m not the only one. i was watching a tear-jerker of a commercial on my work laptop the other day and was so embarrassed when my boss came by my cube to ask me something. i was totally in tears. so unprofessional!
That will teach you to watch those commercials at work, right? The Olympics spots have really made me cry, but fortunately I’m doing it in the privacy of my own home.
Dana, I didn’t mean to laugh but wow, you have had some really tough falls that I think I understand why you cried over them! I laugh when I fall or others fall and then it’s like wait are you ok?? I feel bad for chuckling because then I realized you were hurt as I read on in all the situations. So cute the cards from your kids. I would cry over those too! Your daughter is a great writer like her mom. I remember you shared that one post she wrote so I know she writes some heavy stuff!
Oh, you can laugh at me anytime, Brittnei! And thank you for the sweet words about my daughter. I’d love for her to write another post, but she is having difficulty coming up with a topic to write about.
My goodness, I thought I was clumsy. I’ve never dented a car door with my head. I usually am too mad at myself to cry when I hurt myself. But the time I dropped a can on my big toe – ooooooooo. There are plenty of scenes in Forrest Gump that make me cry. One of them is when he’s at the mic at the Washington Monument and Jenny starts calling him and they run into the water. Waaaaaah.
And OMG total change of movie subject, my eyes are welling up just to ask you if you’ve even seen Life is Beautiful. I watched it twice. The second time I watched it with my mom because I wanted her to see it and I sobbed because I knew what was going to happen.
I have never seen Life is Beautiful – I guess I should, huh? I have to be in the right mood to watch a movie that will make me cry.
Dana, you need a restraining order against yourself! LOL But I get you re: the klutzy stuff. I tend to have seasons of that, in which three or four events will occur in quick succession. What can I tell ya?
Certain movies, songs, and people get my waterworks cranked up. The scene in Finding Neverland when Johnny Depp and the little boy are on the bench and he starts to cry… Lord have mercy! And hearing Phyllis Hyman sing and knowing that we lost her so young gets me started in a minute. I say let the tears fall. They show that we’re human, not extraterrestrials!
You’re right, Alison – we shouldn’t apologize for crying. Or being klutzy. Unless we take someone else down with us, with I don’t usually do!
I’m with you Dana. I cry over commercials of all sorts. My Love always crooks his finger to my upper cheeks to see if I’m crying and yes, he usually comes away with a wet finger. He finds it so terribly funny and I just nod at him and grab a tissue.
Great post. Maybe you should invest in knee and elbow pads? 😉
Barbara @ http://www.allmylivesnow.com
I think maybe I should!
I am a total crier. I cry at the drop of a hat. Commercials–yes. Books–of course. Blog posts-all the time. Movies–naturally. Other people crying–all the time. NOBODY cries alone in my presence, that’s for sure. When my daughter was younger and I would read to her every night there were certain books that she knew made me cry every time. She’d pick those on purpose every now and then and then laugh and laugh when I cried. She’d even say, “You cried one page earlier than last time”. Sheesh! –Lisa
I get picked on for sentimental crying too, Lisa. And I used to pick on my mom for the same thing – karma’s a bitch!
Movies! Too many to list. I had a good UGLY cry over P.S. I Love You. Still always cry over Armageddon, which seems odd, but true.
Oh, pick up your feet, woman! 🙂
It’s not my feet that are the problem. It’s those cracks and holes and bumps in the ground that keep jumping up at me!
OHMYGOSH I LOVE this post!!! You are A RIOT!!! Damn girl- you have got some good SPILLS on your record, don’t ya? LOL I love this list and the idea behind it- I wish I had gone for it this week, but too much to do. Gah. My loss- entirely.
I love that you cried within the first sentence of your sweet boy’s tribute to his sis. Oh that gets ME and I wasn’t even there! SO true about our kids being our outside hearts. Love that.
Thanks so much, Chris – and for sharing on Facebook. Isn’t it wonderful when our kids tell one another how they feel? It makes my heart swell.
Is it just me or is it a wee bit amusing that three items on your list are from when you wiped out? But you’re right – skinned knees do hurt like hell. I haven’t seen Frozen yet but appreciate the warning and dude…Cat’s in the Cradle gets me EVERY time. I can’t even listen to it in the car on the way to work without thinking about how quickly Tucker’s growing up and and and (sniff).
Oh and I cry sometimes when I write, too. Usually that means I like it. Not always though 😉
It is amusing – you can laugh at me, Kristi. If I wrote like you did I would cry every time. I cry sometimes when I read your posts, and that is because I like them and they are good. Really good.
That song from Wicked is a real tear-jerker! I watched Frozen this past weekend and cried through the entire thing. The sisters’ love for one another, the beautiful songs, and the amazing animation! It overwhelmed my senses and made me cry non-stop!
I agree, Gracielle – I loved Frozen. And follow me here: Idina Menzel was the original Elphaba in Wicked, and she was the voice of Elsa in Frozen. AND she’s singing “Let It Go” at the Oscars since it’s nominated for best song. Woohoo!
Most of your cries are because Matt isn’t there to catch you. I mean really, he should be holding your hand like an old lady so you don’t wipe out in front of strangers. You also need some revenge writing to make the kids cry when they are older.
I’m not a crier, per se. But I love that you embrace your day of spilled milk
I did embrace it, but I’ve also caught a lot of flack for being so clumsy. I’ll just assume it’s part of what makes me so endearing. 😉
I’m world renowned for my waterworks! I was very sensitive as a kid, then grew thicker skin as an adult. Until I had the girls. Now the tears are just an ASPCA commercial away. And I cry when I read some of my writing about the girls, too!
It’s ridiculous, Nicole – I can read them same piece five times, and I will cry every time. I’ll even get choked up thinking about it.
I cry every time I hear the Star Spangled Banner. And at the “Mom commercials” they show during the olympics. And, yes, Forrst Gump. Every time.
I was crying just watching the clip online, Mo. And I cried at a few Superbowl commercials too.
Ohhh sweetie you’re so clumsy. And I stand by adorkable as a descriptor for you.
I’m no good at crying. I never have been. Admission of feeling was often seen as something to be attacked, so I learned to bottle it or turn it to humour. And as for getting hurt, well – it’s a chance to prove how tough I am, right? I conform to type and have pretty much starched my upper lip into place.
This last year and a half I’ve probably cried more tears than in the rest of my life put together.
But your beautiful post about never letting go first. That *nearly* made me cry, but also made me so SO happy, because you’re getting it really, really, REALLY right. And your children are the beneficiaries.
Sometimes Niece and Neff say things which nearly make me cry, but they’re not ‘good’ heartbreak. They’re the proper kind and I wish it were different. I wish so much that things were different.
I think for a while now (and I dunno if you’ll get this reference) I’ve been a bit like Bruce Banner (The Incredible Hulk). He learned to stop randomly turning into Hulk (which happened when he got angry) by managing to cope as Bruce, when he was always angry. I think I’m learning about tears the same kind of way, because even if it’s hidden, part of me seems always to be crying.
I get the Bruce Banner reference – that was a show that always made me cry at the end. I hope that the crying part of you will ease up over time, and I wish things were different for you too. xoxo
Not sure it will. I feel like I’ve got ‘one of those lives’
But here’s hoping, and knowing that if nothing else, change is a constant.
I already mentioned on Tamara’s blog that Teddy bear by Red Sovine makes me cry every time I hear it. Now I remembered that the Disney movie “All dogs go to heaven” makes me cry as well.
I haven’t seen that one, but with a title with dogs and heaven in it, I’m sure it’s a sobfest. Animals get me every time.
I am welling up just thinking about you welling up. My list would be so similar to yours, it is scary! “You’re his Daddy, Forrest! Waaaa! I must admit I have never made it through a parent teacher conference without needing a tissue, anything to do with my kids makes me cry. Have you ever read the children’s book I Love You Forever? Next time you need a good cry, read that one, you will sob through the whole thing!
I’m so glad to hear that about the conference crying, Laura – I thought I was the only one. I Love You Forever was the very first book I bought when I was pregnant, and yes, it’s a huge tearjerker. But better tears than the ones in NOLA – if only it had happened five minutes earlier you could have rescued me!
Hi Dana.. Just found your blog and it is darling!! Love your list. Didn’t know anything about FB charging bloggers. Thanks for the tip.
Nice to meet you Katie – thanks for stopping by! Yes, Facebook wants us to pay so that more people see our posts, and I’m not doing it. I made about seventy three cents blogging last year, so advertising is not in the budget!
Cats in the Cradle… INSTANT tears. I don’t generally cry when I wipe out cause I wipe out often. But I have to admit there is comfort in knowing someone else does too? Sorry? I’m finally beginning to feel like it’s okay to cry sometimes.
It is okay, and I don’t always cry – just the ones that really, really hurt. Unfortunately I stumble often. Fortunately I usually catch myself before I go down.
You made me wait til #10?! LOL
xoL
Sorry 🙂 You knew it would be on there though!
AH, that sounds like me, I am The Super Klutz…I’m always tripping over the “invisible crack” as my husband calls it…I am actually quite graceful now when I fall, if that is possible…I have mastered it 😉
xoxo
Jen
I usually managed to stop myself before I fall, but since this was about crying, I had to pull out the big wipeouts. I suppose you and I shouldn’t ever walk next to one another!
Dana,
Is your middle name Grace, too? I’m such a clumsy oaf that my brothers have always found great joy in mocking me and the irony behind my middle name. It hurts to fall. I feel ya….and I’m sorry I do.
Your children just made ME cry, and I’m not even a crier. My kids get me, too. Little words that mean little to them, cover me in emotion, and I find myself wiping at the corners of my eyes quite often.
This might be my favorite list so far….
Middle name is not Grace, but now I wish it was! I wasn’t much of a crier when I was younger…I’m becoming a softie in my old age.
omgosh you’re just like my bff! We all tense when she walks to the mailbox! I’m thinking you need a walker. You know, just when on sidewalks. Embrace it.
My kid’s homemade cards get me, too. Every. Time.
No walker for me – not for another five years at least. I wish you could read the card Gwen wrote me on my birthday – bawling.
It’s Extraterrestrial Visitor Day!! Hooray!! Wait, what do we do?
I’m crying writing my own and reading others today. I decided to link up, finally, because these are too good to resist. My anti-Tuesday blogging law has been broken.
You poor dear. I have a scar on my right elbow, so we’re kinda twins officially.
We have a matching set of scars – lovely. And ET Visitor Day – we make cookies for the, naturally.
As a young woman, I could never understand why women cried at their weddings (I didn’t), or at sad movies, etc. And then I had a baby…….. My-oh-my how things changed! I think giving birth released hormones that I didn’t know existed.
BTW, I think I’ll send you knee and elbow pads, and a helmet for your birthday!
I may get a few of those this year, Debbie. Now you know one of the reasons I’m not a runner – it would be dangerous.
I can’t even count how many times I’ve cried during commercials, movies, TV shows and reading books!
Umm…I thought I fell a lot – be careful walking around!!!!
I’ve never heard the bread in the mouth while cutting an onion thing – sort of icks me just thinking about it because I hate soggy things.
Don’t even bother to try it, Kim – it doesn’t work. I just have to suck it up and cut/cry as all my mascara runs off.
Your list is excellent! I love that you included writing on yours. I got teary while making out my list and yet I neglected to include it on mine. Duh! And falling. Forgot that one, too. I know just what you mean. I fell on the ice on my way out to the car to go to work last week. I wasn’t hurt, thank God, but I cried half the way to work anyway – mostly because I’m just so tired of winter this year, and secondly, because I was upset with myself for not having been more careful.
I hear you – I don’t fall that often, but when I do I get annoyed with myself for being a klutz.
This list is great! I cry all the time too – from books, movies, commercials, stress, stubbing my toe, etc. And it’s easy to keep track of because every time I cry my contacts get filled with tear protein and I have to clean them extra hard. However, contacts protect my eyes from onions so at least I don’t cry from cutting an onion! God Bless the USA always makes me cry. Every. Single. Time. I even cried at the end of Grand Torino – and that wasn’t a sad movie.
God Bless the USA makes me cry too. I stood at the Bellagio’s fountains in Vegas, and that song came on. The fountains are spraying, people are oohing and aahing, and I’m crying.
Great list, Dana! Have you considered wearing bubble wrap? I’m might not be the height of fashion, but I’d look into it if I were you!!
Lol – I will consider that, Rabia. Maybe I can accessorize it with a cute belt…
With the right belt, you could definitely pull it off!!
Another amazing post, Dana! I am a crier too…a sappy love story, a touching commercial, my kids, a genuine friendship. Hope you have a great day!
Thank you Stacey – you too! And yes, commercials get me too – that Folger’s one when the son comes home and his sister comes down to greet him? Cry.
That song from Wicked gets me every time, too!
The fact that it’s the last song doesn’t help, because then I know the show is ending.
I can’t tell you how many times I write a blog post and cry while I’m writing it! So I’m with you on that one! I for one love a good cry. But all of this wiping out? I agree with Allie. You need an entourage!
Then I’d be safer and cooler all at the same time – I could get used to an entourage. Your posts make me teary quite a bit, Ilene, so I can imagine the effect they have on you. Teary in a good way, of course. 🙂
Ha! So glad you linked up today! And I’m bringing you a helmet, knee pads, and band aids to BlogU! 🙂
I would be quite a sight decked out in all that. I’ll try not to hurt myself that weekend!
I almost started crying as I was writing my post for today, too! Especially because I started listening to all the sappy songs that make me cry. 🙂
That will do it every time, won’t it? And it didn’t help that I watched the Forrest Gump clips as I was writing!
Dana, I knew I loved you, but now more then ever, because sounds like we both have a tendency to slip or fall. I am truly a klutz from way back and don’t know many people who can fall up the stairs. Yes, sadly I have fallen up there stairs too many times now. But seriously shake my hand, because I really a just that accident prone!
I think we should keep our distance whenever we meet in person, Janine – we are likely to head butt one another!
Thanks. . I’m crying. From one cry baby to another. ..I totally agree about anything having to do with children. Heck I cried before I had kids. When I taught and my kids would stand up in class to perform or do a little party I would be weeping by the end of the first line. Is it a shocker that my first class kept record of how many times I wept and presented it to me in the firm of a wadded up paper at the end of the year.
Modern Family gets me every week. ..I guess it goes along with children but really that one is about family. God I love that show.
Although I don’t wipe out as much as my dear friend I did put a hole in the dry wall in the laundry room with my elbow as I fell backward.
Nice. I loved this post. Xoxo
What a clever first class you had – that’s hilarious. Sometimes England Dan makes me cry too…
I think we need to get you an entourage to help prevent any more falls my friend!! Yikes!! I totally get the crying and I tend to cry very easily as well. I always cry over my kids (good and bad), over movies and when I fell on ice in my driveway last year I came running into the house crying for my husband like I was 5. It HURT!!
Yes, I’m a bit klutzy. But you’re right it hurts! When I fell in New Orleans I was alone, and I texted Matt a picture of my injury, then called him while hysterically crying. I’m sure he was thrilled.