"My Eyes are Watering"

I had been warned to bring tissues when we went to Toy Story 3 but I would have done it anyway. I mean--Disney? heartwarming story of a boy and his toys? You KNOW there is going to be a moment or two when you're going to need a tissue.

We decided to go to the movies today because it's so hot outside and we might as well take advantage of the theatre's air conditioning system.

Walt and I were the only people there without little kids with us. I remember the first time I went to a kids' show alone. I was very pregnant with Jeri when they re-released Bambi to the theatres and I needed to see it, so I waddled to the theatre all by myself (Walt dropped me off, but wouldn't come with me) and sat there bawling like a baby as Bambi starts calling for his mother after she is killed.

Nowadays, cartoons are just as much for adults as they are for kids...especially a movie like Toy Story 3, which deals with what happens to a child's beloved toys when the child grows up and goes off to college.

I ran into Joann this afternoon. She is the mother of one of David's friends and after he died it was years before I saw her. But lately it seems that we have apointments on the same day for blood donation. I donate whole blood; she donates platelets and we have brief conversations at some point.

But today she was there with her four grandchildren. She explained that the air conditioning at her house was out and she was babysitting and desperate for someplace cool to take the kids. I was in shock when I discovered it was costing her $35 to take her grandchildren to a movie!

As the movie was ending, and I was fumbling in my purse for that tissue I'd thought to bring, the little girl sitting next to Walt turned to her mother and said "my eyes are watering."

I wonder what little kids think about emotional tears, such as those that come while watching an emotional scene in a movie.

Little kids are really good about tears. They know tears come when you get hurt. They know that tears come when you're sad.

But what do they think about tears that come when you aren't hurt or sad? When something that you're watching is just...sweet...or tender, or any of those things that we adults can be maudlin about. What do they think about their urge to cry?

"My eyes are watering" seems a perfect way to put it!

I realized how good all those credits that go on endlessly at the end of a film are for me. They give my face a chance to get back to normal again...and trust me, I stayed until the lights came up after watching Toy Story 3. My eyes were definitely watering!