A Little Thought – 2017 Week 8

Posted on February 18, 2017 by Helen C

Kearson--BWs2

Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened. – Dr. Seuss

Why do we cry?
A why-do-we-cry article at Live-Science.com says:

“Babies cry to signal to their mothers [that] something’s up,” Silva told Live Science in an email. “It’s a pure attention call.”

As people grow older, they begin to use their tears to express emotion, such as happiness or sadness. These tears may promote compassion and empathy in others, Silva said.

(André Silva is a doctoral student of psychology at the University of Minho in Portugal.)

Two days ago, I finally started digitizing my daughter’s baby photos, which had been on my to-do list for seemingly forever. This wasn’t an easy task. First, I lined up photo albums by year (Why did we take so many photos?) Then I took each photo out, wiped dusts off, and scanned it (Tried to scan one way first, and changed to another). Of course after scanning it, I edited it.

Tedious work like this, usually, is a no-brainer. It’s like one person assembly line. You do one thing after the other without thinking, and soon, before you know, the work will be done, supposedly.

I honestly thought so, until all those fond memories rushing toward me like waves in a stormy sea. Fifteen minutes later, I was helplessly sitting on the floor, tears flowing down my cheek.

I got confused. I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t sad. And I was definitely grateful for all the things that had happened. So… why was I crying?

Wei happened to walk by. He took a look at me, and took a look at the pile of photo albums.

“I understand,” he said. “It’s one of those mothering things.”

Thanks for visiting my blog.

About Helen C

A retired computer programmer who loves writing and photographing, and has managed to publish a YA novel "Jin-Ling’s Two Left".
This entry was posted in random thoughts, Weekly Little Thought, Writing. Bookmark the permalink.

21 Responses to A Little Thought – 2017 Week 8

  1. Mother Hen says:
    February 18, 2017 at 4:14 am

    My comment disappeared. I will try again. I agree with a mothering thing.. Viewing photographs stirs up memories and emotion. We women are programed like that.. ♡

    Liked by 1 person

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  2. Cee Neuner says:
    February 18, 2017 at 12:07 pm

    We women are sentimental beings. And I like it that way. 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. carol1945 says:
    February 18, 2017 at 12:45 pm

    This is exactly why I cannot “de-clutter” and organize my 70 years of memorabila. There are duplicate photos, there are bad photos, there are tickets from un-remembered events. But once I start going through the box, tears come and come. I experience a wistful nostalgia, and am happy for all the good memories, but sad that things have to end.

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. loisajay says:
    February 18, 2017 at 1:34 pm

    He is so right. It is never a ‘fathering’ thing. Crying is my go-to emotion…..but I am OK with that. My younger son is just like me.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  6. restlessjo says:
    February 19, 2017 at 1:26 am

    I get a lump in my throat just looking! The floodgate of memories is a powerful thing 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. Amy says:
    February 19, 2017 at 4:59 pm

    Those old photos bring sweet memories. That is a beautiful project to work on, Helen. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Helen C says:
      February 19, 2017 at 7:09 pm

      Thanks, Amy. I always wanted to do this. I finally got started after receiving a coupon for making a photo book. With all those extra time I spent on remembering the past, I missed the deadline. Oh, well… I am glad I started and will definitely continue.
      Have a great evening.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  8. Joanne Sisco says:
    February 20, 2017 at 3:56 pm

    Wei is very wise.

    I’ve gone down that rabbit hole more than a few times as I’ve been slowly scanning and cataloguing not only my own photos, but those of my mom’s which are now in my possession. The memories flood back and become all-consuming.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Helen C says:
      April 2, 2017 at 9:43 am

      Thanks, Joanne. So sorry for the late response. Sometime I read a comment, I like to think about it for a while, but the way Wrodpress works (and my aging, I know), quite often, after giving some thoughts, I couldn’t find the spot to reply. ;-(
      I was happy to know that I am not alone on this. Believe it or not, I haven’t gone back to scan photos, but, after resting for so long, it’s back on my top priority list now. I am kind of looking forward to it.
      Thanks again. Have a great day.

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      Reply
  9. Ming Wang says:
    February 20, 2017 at 4:20 pm

    Last week, my elder sister sent me a family photo taken on early 1970s when I was a child. I think I got the same feeling as yours when I saw the photo. I stared on the photo for a while and my brain was gone so far away… all the memories, no matter good or not, were back suddenly.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Helen C says:
      April 2, 2017 at 9:47 am

      Thanks Ming for your comment. Sorry for my late response. Like I told Joanne, sometime I like to think about what people commented for w while before writing back, which apparently is not working well because I often lost the place to reply.
      I didn’t realize what I described was quite common 😉 I feel normal again.
      But I have to say… it’s good to have those memories (good or bad). Don’t you agree?
      Have a wonderful day.

      Liked by 1 person

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