Getting More Emotional as the Years Go By...

[qtlaw]

I've never been afraid to cry/show my emotions because I've always felt it's simply natural. Even though I grew up in the 60/70s when the mindset was "be a man, men don't cry", etc.

However, nowadays movies/shows get to me faster, I attribute that to being a father and having a better understanding of the joy/grief/pain that the parent (or child) is experiencing.

Today, I was watching Kvitova (2 time Wimbledon champ) play her last match on Centre Court and she spoke in Czech to her parents and it got to me.

Anyone else going through this evolution?

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

100 percent. I'm 56, and many, many things that I see about the relationship between parents and children, and things that are left unsaid, leave me in shambles. And things like when I wonder how my kids will remember me, did I do a good job as a parent, as a husband, as a friend, as a co-worker ... just leave me in a funk.

I think I posted on here at some point about getting and compiling an "end of life" book, where the people left behind can find everything they need if I (or my wife and I) die tomorrow. Things like where our bank accounts are, life insurance details, safe deposit boxes, wills and living wills, all of that ****.

I've put some of that together in the book, but every time I pick it up, I flip through it and get to the part where in the back of the book, there's a space where I can write a letter to my kids and insert it, and basically tell them anything I want to tell them, as a final goodbye. That thought absolutely cripples me. I've made a career out of writing, but what in the **** would I put in a letter to my kids, for them to read and reflect on after my death? Feels like nothing I would include could ever be enough.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

I have cried at every one of my closest friends’ weddings. I am officiating one tonight and the current betting odds are -10,000 I get through it without getting choked up.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

Went to a Family Reunion last weekend out of state, on my Dad's side of the family. One of those gatherings with people from across the country, where everybody eats too much, drinks too much, forgets about the petty rifts with relatives, then remembers the petty rifts with relatives.

Was a good time, then we get to the end, and everybody who was remaining kind of looks at each other, and I think we all had the same thought, that when the next reunion happens in 2030, there will be people who have passed and won't be there. Who will that be, and what will we regret not saying to them?

I kept it together until we were in the car driving home, but man that was rough.

 

[DanOregon]

I almost think it is because the longer you live, the more crud you see. So when you do see a pure, happy moment where everything that can be good in the world is right there, it hits you like a ton of bricks.

The inverse is true too for me. Bad stuff happens and I'm almost used to it. It doesn't overwhelm me.

 

[WriteThinking]

I have not outright actually cried or sobbed in a long time. But I do find myself being touched -- gently, quietly having tears well up, or trying to hold them back -- by certain thoughts, sights and experiences much more often now than ever before.

I attribute such instances to a growing, more sharply felt appreciation for time, and life.

 

[TrooperBari]

I'm definitely quicker to tear up these days, even without the multiplier of a spouse or kids. Even moments I know are coming get to me. One of my go-to comfort video games, Chinese Parents, added pets in an update a while ago. Spoiler: your cat will die of old age in every run, regardless of your actions. Despite having gone through that many times by now, it inevitably gets to me (and just did as I typed this, too). I'm not sure if I'm becoming more of a softie as I age or if the cumulative effects of **gestures at the outside world** all this has worn my nerves raw.

 

[micropolitan guy]

I've never been afraid to cry/show my emotions because I've always felt it's simply natural. Even though I grew up in the 60/70s when the mindset was "be a man, men don't cry", etc.

However, nowadays movies/shows get to me faster, I attribute that to being a father and having a better understanding of the joy/grief/pain that the parent (or child) is experiencing.

Today, I was watching Kvitova (2 time Wimbledon champ) play her last match on Centre Court and she spoke in Czech to her parents and it got to me.

Anyone else going through this evolution?

It started happening to me after my son was born. Heck I almost broke up the other night watching the 'Welcome to Wrexham" promotion episode.

 

[dixiehack]

Our mini-vacation road trip began with my daughter recapping her week at dance camp (as if she doesn’t live at her studio already). But it quickly veered from the details of the dances themselves to the latest happenings among the high school and middle school dancers, who are her core friend group. And as she was talking about the group chat and the song they made up with all their inside jokes from over the years, I couldn’t help but be grateful that she has her tribe. Many of these girls are going to be in each other’s weddings next decade and the ones who stick around that community will probably remain bonded to one another for life.

No tears but maybe a little dewy-eyed rattling down the road.

 

[MileHigh]

It's been nearly eight years since we lost my sister and her family. On Monday, as I was sitting in traffic on I-25 going up to Fort Collins, I got a bit emotional. I was heading up because the group we sold their business to was paying off the loans and it was truly the finality of everything since the crash and being the executor of their estate and all that came with that. Wasn't happy with one of the three when he came in and made a comment, but I held off really going off. That said, all of the family members reached out and expressed their appreciation for all that I had done the past nearly eight years dealing with it. Still, a tough and bittersweet day.

 

[Gym Beam]

I have always been a sentimental fool, and cried often during TV shows/movies. Now I also find myself more likely to tear up at church while singing.

 

[Slacker]

At this age, on top of all the sentimental stuff,
there also ain't enough hours in a day anymore.

I saw that in my mom. And now I'm living it, too.

 

[Driftwood]

I am FAR more likely to get misty-eyed and choked up at a triumph than a tragedy.
Death, loss, etc. doesn't phase me a bit. I did part of my own dad's funeral service and was cracking jokes.
Somebody has a big event or says something nice, I can get emotional.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

My youngest graduated from high school this past weekend. We had a nice outdoor party for him the day after with about 40 people.

I found myself getting emotional a couple of times over the weekend, including, of all times, when the workers of the rent a tent company were just about done packing up and all that was left of the party was a few scattered pieces of debris to pick up.

It hit me that after more than 20 years with two kids, that the school bus will no longer be coming in the morning. And that our youngest, who as I posted on another thread, is developmentally delayed, and will no longer have a school to go to and there's a heckuva transition period now for all of us.

 

[UNCGrad]

We need a "Care" option in the reaction options. A "Like" isn't exactly what I want to express on some of these.

 

[DanOregon]

Seconded. There is also another discussion to be had about the general use of emojis to show compassion and empathy in society.

 

[playthrough]

My soon-to-be 20-year-old daughter is really coming into her own, knowing exactly what she wants to do career-wise and doing well at school, plus having a solid boyfriend who calls me Mister. It can get me choked up on occasion. As parents, of course, there are many times when you wonder what the hell you're doing (we have some of those times now with our 12-year-old) but seeing how this one is turning out is so gratifying.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

When we took our daughter to college and moved her in, during the heat of Covid, 200 miles from home at a state school where none of her friend group was attending, we were walking around campus and kind of lingering.

At one point, she said, "I love you guys, but you can go home now. This is exactly where I need to be."

We kept it together until we got back to our car, but that drive home was an ugly-crying one. In a good way.

 

[swingline]

I’m the meanest mother****er and the softest touch you’ll ever meet. A walking dichotomy.

 

[micropolitan guy]

We used part of my parent's estate to help pay for Micro Jr.'s law school tuition. A couple hours after he graduated, we were in his apartment, and I tried to tell him how proud his Grammy and Boompa would be of him. I just broke down completely, totally lost it.