Is There Help for this Hopeless Sap?

Hopeless sap, sentimental fool, emotional mess… these terms, and pretty much any synonym for them, sum me up pretty well. It’s nothing new really. I’ve always been this way; however, with each milestone my children reach, it becomes more and more pronounced. I think it may have something to do with how much my husband and I chuckled about his mother’s emotional state at our wedding. Now, I’m fairly certain I’ll have her beat at my own children’s weddings.

Here’s just one reason why. Today, this beautiful spring like gift of a day in the middle of winter, my husband and I decided to take a walk at Bee Tree Park. For those of you who have been there, we started out near the look out pavilion overlooking the Mississippi River. The scenery was beautiful, but what got me, was this grandmother standing behind her grandson who was anxiously discussing the smoke rising from the trees somewhere far off in Illinois, pointing out birds, etc.

He had climbed up a couple of slats in the guard rail fence, just like my little boy used to do when he was that age. We would come down to this spot while his sister was still in school and we stood just like that grandmother and grandson. Me protecting my little explorer, with an arm around each side, just in case he’d decide to climb too high. And the waterworks started.

My husband, thankfully, is used to such moments with me. He says I’m just a softie. He knows to expect it when things remind me of my dad. Put on “Father of the Bride” and he knows (and my kids by now do too) that we’re in for a full on cry-fest. That you can understand though, right? A total daddy’s girl watching a movie about how hard it was for the daddy to let her go. But it can even be a sappy commercial for diapers sometimes, watching my son sing in the choir on Christmas Eve, waving goodbye to my daughter last night realizing that more and more weekends will be spent with her “out” than “in” with us anymore—anything! Geesh… it can get a little embarrassing!

So as this school year continues to fly by, I’m faced with one child finishing middle school and the other child finishing elementary school. No more room mom duties, class parties, Christmas stores or Halloween parades. No more 100th day celebrations, Valentine boxes or volunteering in the library. It feels like the end of an era for me, and guess what, I’m crying as I write this silly blog.

I’m telling you now, I don’t know how I’ll ever handle graduations, college and marriages. I’m hoping that by blogging it out, I’ll work through these feelings and help it to be a little easier. Maybe some of you who read this will offer up some good advice, but in the meantime, I’ll grab a Kleenex, hug my babies and settle in with a good book. I know I’ll make it, but I can’t promise it’ll be pretty. Anyone know a good waterproof mascara that I might try?