Comments on: Answer me this #13

By: Jamie

Jamie — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:56:35 +0000

I don’t remember the first time, but like Sheri they seem to come more often the older I get.

A distinct memory I do have is my Dad bringing home roses to my Mom when I was around 4-5 years old. I was peeking around the bookcase watching Mom cry and not understanding – I would have been thrilled if Dad brought me a present!!

Maybe with age, emotions mature. Sort of like how babies have to almost ‘grow’ tastebuds before they can enjoy sour and bitter tastes. I don’t think children have the complex emotions of ‘happy tears.’

By: Kami

Kami — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:56:34 +0000

Wonderful question and I love the comments.

I don't remember the first time at all. It does seem to be more of an adult thing.

I wonder if sometimes it is a sad/sweet moment. I was tearing up the other day over looking at an Easter dress we bought LB. My thought was, "how amazing we have a daughter to buy this for." It was a happy thought with a sad edge because it was also about our losses and time it took to get here.

By: niobe

niobe — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:56:33 +0000

If you mean literally and not metaphorically, i don’t think I’ve ever cried happy tears.

I’ll have to think about what that means.

By: Geochick

Geochick — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:56:32 +0000

When I graduated from high school. I don’t know why, but I tend to cry under extremely stressful situations whether they are happy or sad or just difficult (quitting a job I don’t even like). I prepped myself for WEEKS so that I wouldn’t lose it at my wedding.

By: Denise

Denise — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:56:32 +0000

I wonder if it could have something to do with holding in emotion? Most kids tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves expressing whatever they’re feeling at that moment (even if the expression is different for each child). Maybe as adults we hold emotions much more in check and so when we become overwhelmingly happy, it all overflows. Just a theory.

By: Leigh

Leigh — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:56:31 +0000

I would imagine it has something to do with the ability to manage emotions. When you’re young and you feel something overwhelming, like anger for example, it comes out as tears. But I guess that logic would mean you’d cry when you’re overwhelmingly happy too, and I don’t recall doing that….hmmm…

I honestly think the first time I cried happy tears was after Ellie was born this August. Just feeling so overcome with joy that the only outlet was to cry.

By: Martha

Martha — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:56:31 +0000

Wow, interesting thought about tears of joy being an adult phenomenon.
I remember being 9 years old getting a Malibu Barbie for Xmas being so happy w/tears of joy.
Thanks, Lori.

By: Kork

Kork — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:56:31 +0000

Good question!

I was actually 13, and silly as it sounds, had asked for a pair of leather boots for Christmas…you know the kind that went outside of your pants, that were sort of slouchy, and you looked totally cool in them? (yes, it was 1988)…well, come Christmas morning, there was a box wrapped up with my name on it, and when I tore off the paper, there was the boot box…we still have photos of me HUGGING my boots…

I think that happy tears are more of an adult phenomenon because we’ve become so jaded, so hardened that we realize that true happiness and joy can be rare or at least far between, and we savor it more…we understand that true happiness is a product of our actions and choices, and not just getting something we think we want when we want it.

By: Coffeegrljapan

Coffeegrljapan — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:56:31 +0000

I don’t know for sure, but I think, like Sunny it was when I got accepted into my first choice college AND they gave me a totally kick-a$$ scholarship meaning that I could in fact attend a private liberal arts college despite my family’s modest income. My father and I shared the moment and he too became teary-eyed. Perhaps seeing him that way made me all the more emotional. For him, I think it was the joy at knowing that his oldest child would be able to go to an excellent college and become the first college-educated person in our family and that he didn’t have to feel bad about not being able to pay for such an experience for me. It was an incredibly emotional moment for all of us and much more complex than I ever could have comprehended at a young age. Perhaps that’s why we don’t cry happy tears earlier?

By: JJ

JJ — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:56:31 +0000

Very cool question–and I wish I could remember the FIRST time–but the first one I have a really good memory of, was when I found out I got the lead role in my high school senior musical. Cheesy, yes–but I will always remember that moment!