On a serious note...

So the title can and should somewhat lead you to believe that this is a more serious post, and it is, to a certain extent. I was thinking the other night, as I sat and made Dominique and Lucy watch a very sweet and sad video, about the things that make me cry. Those of you who know me can attest to the fact that I, Mary Kathryn Shropshire, am not much of a crier. Tears will eventually flow over sad or extenuating circumstances, but it is usually a few days (and in some cases months) after the situation has occurred. I'm trying and have most definitely improved my connection to my emotional womanly core, but for so long and for a reason I cannot explain, I had no connection to it.

Sure I would get upset and cry over my feelings being hurt and things like that, but things like deaths and sadness and sacrifices and love and so many other things have never hit my emotional core. Slowly, the older I get, they are. I think the older I get, I am seeing more and more that death, sadness, sacrifice, and love are a definite real and tangible part of life. I suppose I never really connected them to my life, but I am seeing more and more how they are there, all around me.

NOW, I've decided to compile a "list" in no particular order of the many movies/books/situations that can make me weep like a small small child no matter what. Do not ask me why I am posting about this, I just want to see if everyone else is just as weak as I am when it comes to these things. And for some, I will even post videos (that's right, to get the FULL effect).

1. Stepmom (movie) This movie always always ALWAYS makes me cry and in the same exact spots every time. I caught it on ABC Family one afternoon when I first moved up to Birmingham and decided, like the emotional whore that I am, to sit and watch it. The two scenes posted below are the two inparticular that I generally loose it on.
Restuarant scene (OH it's just so sweet and sad)


Ending of the movie (Christmas gifts. I can't even talk about it)


2. Steel Magnolias (movie) What southern woman does not LOVE this movie and does not cry and laugh throughout the entire thing. My sisters and I love this movie and quote it constantly and always cry uncontrollably while watching it, especially in the scene posted below. We think it's secretly because Sally Field in this movie reminds us of our mother (I mean, Sally is just a motherly person, ya know?)

Funeral scene (It's just SO GOOD. I mean you are crying, you are laughing, it's just classic)


3. The Crippled Lamb (children's book) Next week I'm reading this story to my class. I'm hoping I have enough control not to break down in front of them (though I did start crying last year to my kindergarten class when I read The Story of Ruby Bridges) If you don't know this story, you need to go and read it. Find it. It is truly the sweetest and most precious story I have ever read. It's about the Christmas story and the birth of the baby Jesus and this precious lamb named Joshua...JUST typing about right now has gotten me a little emotional, so I won't go into details. Just read it. That and The Story of the Three Trees. This is one of those situations that the older I get, the more I realize and see the beauty and the sacrifice and love of the Gospel. How this precious sweet baby came to save all who come to know Him.

4. The Polar Express (children's book/movie) It doesn't matter which it is, I pretty much tear up on both of them. It's such a sweet and magical book that, to me, is full of so much symbolism. The boy in the story longs to hear the bells, but he can't because of his unbelief, when finally he sees Santa and sees that he is real, that he is there, and finally he hears the sweet tinkling of the sleigh bells. I think of how I was before I was a believer. I heard everyone talk about the Lord, saw Him work in other people's lives, but didn't truly believe He would or could work in my life. However, in the simplest and strangest of ways, God has a way of revealing Himself in His own mysterious way, giving us the faith to believe in Him, even if we don't see Him. I am doing something really awesome with my kids with The Polar Express (courtesy of my mother) and once we do it, I'll post it and tell you about it

Where I cry...because it's precious


5. Hearing small children talk about Jesus (everyday life) I realize that most of these things have to do with Christmas and children, but maybe it's just the time of year that gets me a bit a emotional, I'm not sure. There is something, though, about hearing a 6 year old share with you the simplicity of the best and most wonderful gift the world ever received. What's even more sweet is that I never bring it up with my children (because I can't) but in small conversations at lunch or at recess, they'll say things that bring tears to my eyes and make my heart melt. My mom said to me the other day that teaching at Christmas time is one of the best and most wonderful things because you get to be 6 years old again. You get to remember what it was like to be a child, to have magic and wonder all around you. Of course, she said that, and I got a little choked up, but it's true. I love my job and I am so thankful that I get the opportunity to spend my day with some of the funniest little people God created.

And last...mainly because I can't think of anything else/don't want to create the longest post ever...

6. The Story of Teddy I really don't need to explain this one, you just need to watch it. This was the video I made Dom and Lucy watch the other night, and I just cried and cried as I watched it. I've heard the story several times. I heard it for the 1st time in my Classroom Management class and thought, oh that's sweet, that's nice. Then I saw this video last year during Christmas and it finally hit me and I wept like a child. I know the music is a little cheesy and the pictures are a little dramatic, but it's just one of the sweetest stories I've ever heard. Just copy the link and paste it in your search engine. It's worth it, I promise.

http://www.makeadifferencemovie.com/

I've left you with enough videos to have you crying for days now, so I'm off. I didn't post this stuff to be depressing or emotional, just to remind everyone it's ok to laugh, to cry, to embrace all aspects of life, the heartache, the struggle, the love, and the beauty.