Tears and Tangled

His eyes are wide, tears start to fill the white space until they reach the beautiful brown. He starts to cry and heads over to his mom for hugs and comfort.

His mom takes him within her arms and listens to his story.

Rapunzel was taken by the bad guys but she got away and finally made it back to her family.

More hugs and reassurance. Such a sweet boy. Tender heart. Empathetic.

He’s like his dad.

His mother remembers the first time he cried his eyes out while watching a movie. She felt terrible, wondering if she should have let him watch it.

It was Ramona and Beezus. Cute movie. But then…the cat died. Oh how that little girl loved that cat and the burial scene was a tearjerker.

This sweet boy sobbed for several minutes during that scene. Then again at bedtime as he recalled the events.

His mother worried she had overloaded his heart, his brain with such complex and intense emotions. Deep down though she knew that experiencing and feeling these emotions is healthy.

She started asking him questions such as, are you worried about mommy and daddy dying? She was trying to figure out the depth of his sorrow.

However, it was quite simple. He is five after all and a cat died.

He was sad. End of story. So, she hugged him and agreed how sad it was and how much the little girl must miss her cat.

His mother was the one left tangled about the tears.

13 Responses to Tears and Tangled
  1. angela
    April 8, 2011 | 5:46 am

    Oh, those hard, hard concepts. I think sometimes I try to overexplain to my daughter, and then it goes over her head, leaving me upset and her confused :(

    What a sweet little guy to care so much about others!

  2. Lexie Loo & Dylan Too
    April 8, 2011 | 8:08 am

    What a compassionate little guy!

  3. Eat. Live. Laugh. and sometimes shop!
    April 8, 2011 | 1:57 pm

    So sweet. My little guy always cries at movies. I love that about him and hope to never squash that instinct to show / feel real emotion!

  4. Betsy at Zen-Mama
    April 8, 2011 | 5:40 pm

    Boys are a lot sweeter than you think. They cry a lot about life. They act tough later but are still so sweet!!

  5. Cheryl D.
    April 8, 2011 | 7:16 pm

    What a sweet boy and a sweet story! Personally, I was bawling my eyes out during that scene!

  6. Miel Abeille
    April 9, 2011 | 12:15 am

    Melissa, Your posts are becoming more and more poetic! I'm so envious of the progress of your writing!!! Lovely post!

  7. Laura@OutnumberedMom
    April 9, 2011 | 1:05 pm

    Oh, my, did this bring back memories!

  8. Liz
    April 10, 2011 | 7:52 am

    Ooooh, kids and their emotions! Have 2 at the opposite ends of the spectrum. I do consciously try to "lighten things up" with the over-emotional one.

  9. Ameena
    April 10, 2011 | 9:05 am

    I am dreading dealing with these difficult questions. Right now I sort of pawn them off by telling my daughter to ask her teacher/grandmother/dad. But one day I'll have to handle them!!

    Such a sweet little boy!

  10. Stefanie
    April 11, 2011 | 10:48 am

    What a sweetie he is. I love that you share these moments with us…it goes by so fast!
    Thank you

  11. Lady Jennie
    April 12, 2011 | 12:53 pm

    I know. It's very hard to see them sad over things you can't fix.

  12. Lady Jennie
    April 12, 2011 | 12:54 pm

    PS. I was SURE this was going to be a post about combing out hair. :-)

  13. Sherri
    April 13, 2011 | 9:22 am

    So sweet and sad, too. I have a more sensitive boy and a go-with-the-flow girl. And my emotions get so wrapped up in how they feel, and I always take it to the next level too!

    And sometimes, the tears are just simple. But we make them into so much more in our heads.