A few weeks ago, literally out of the blue, my daughter curled up in my arms sobbing because she realized that when she starts her new school in Sept she won't see her best friend from her current school - she lives in a different town and is headed to a different school. She said she didn't want to cry and wanted the sad things to leave her head. I could see her mentally pushing the thoughts away as she frantically wiped her tears.
I explained to her (as my own tears were running down my face out of empathy) that it's okay to cry and in fact it's good to cry. I just read Fairly Odd Mother's post about shedding a tear or two and realized that in my busy schedule I tend to take my emotions and push them aside to control other matters that need my attention. But when I held my little girl in my arms and realized she thought this sadness was insurmountable, I wanted to let her know she could and should cry and to never, ever hold it inside. I wanted her to feel all the emotions stored in her little heart and I believe she will be a better person if she can feel the pain inside herself to understand the pain in others.
I've always cried - and at times cried long and hard - and I am grateful that I don't have an indifference towards life and it's ever-changing moments between joy and pain. I will remind myself that some day soon I may just need a moment to have a good cry - and I'm going to be sure I do it in front of my little girl. Kids learn by example, for this I am sure!
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