Moved to Tears

Describe the last time you were moved to tears by something.

I was clicking through random prompts on The Daily Post one day when I came across this one. It made me stop and think for a moment because my response is not the kind that you might expect. The last time I was “moved to tears” was a couple of days ago when I was curled in up bed at my work camp. Was I upset about something that had happened at work? Nope. Was I lonely because my family was 3000 miles away? Well, always, but that wasn’t the issue in question. No, this particular night I was moved to tears because Detective Ryan escaped a near-death experience just in time to meet his newborn baby girl and hold her for the first time.

Yeah… I was totally watching ‘Castle’.

The thing is, when it comes to real life, I don’t cry very often – pretty much only when there’s been a death in the family. But get me invested in a fictional character and woo-ee…the dams break right open.

I don’t know what that says about me, exactly, but I have a theory. See, I tend to internalize a lot because I’m not great at expressing my feelings to others, even the people I’m closest to. Some of those internalized emotions come out in my writing, but definitely not all of them. The rest is reserved for fiction characters created by others. It’s almost as though I’m emoting vicariously through people who are safe targets because they’re not real. Does that make any sense at all? I feel like maybe that only makes sense to me.

Now don’t get me wrong: I’m not bawling my eyes out every time one of the “good guys” dies in ‘Game of Thrones’ (can you imagine? I’d have chronic dehydration), but I do get choked up quite often when a character I love is going through something horrible, or having a super-emotional moment. I thought I was going to have a complete breakdown during the opening scenes of ‘UP’, and there have been episodes of ‘Supernatural’ during which I had to turn my head so my husband wouldn’t see the glimmer in the corners of my eyes. And then there’s ‘Full Metal Alchemist’… Guys, I can’t not speak enough about how amazing this show was – even if you’re not normally an anime fan – and there were a few scenes that made me weep, no joke.

Anyone who has seen the show is bawling like a little baby right now, I guarantee it.

And sometimes, honestly, that can feel nice. Crying, even if it’s over something fictional, can be very cathartic and a huge stress-reliever (see aforementioned problem with internalization). Honestly, all you guys who play by the rule of “Boys Don’t Cry” are really missing out.

What do you guys think? Am I crazy for sniveling over fictional characters, or do you totally get what I’m saying? When was the last time you were brought to tears (by something fictional or otherwise)? Please share!

Also, a reminder that I am running a contest throughout the month of March. For each comment you post on my blog throughout the month, you will receive one entry toward a draw for a hard-copy of my zombie apocalypse novel, “Nowhere to Hide”! Please note that in order to accept the prize, I will need you to give me a mailing address where I can have the book sent. If the winner drawn did not intend to enter the contest and/or does not want the book, I will draw another name. Please also note that obvious spam/duplicate comments/etc. will not be counted toward an entry…play fair! And good luck! ❤