All the Feels

There was a time when I’d roll my eyes with the best of them, but now if I see a meme of tiny footsteps in the sand, I’m tempted to look for it on a throw pillow, add a quote about the fleeting nature of childhood innocence and I’ll probably be in tears. Strike that; I will absolutely be in tears. Ever since I peed on a stick and literally saw a double rainbow, I am one big ball of cheesy. While some moms are tempted to laugh it off and blame hormones, it is so much more liberating to crawl out from behind the box of tissues.

Recently a friend of mine had a baby. In college we bonded over a shared hatred of kissy pictures and dad's wearing their children as accessories. I asked her what she thought of motherhood so far and she texted me a picture of her husband rocking a Baby Bjorn along with some happy crying emojis, “It’s all those sappy, clichéd things we used to make fun of.” Exactly.

On Saturday I completed my fourth half marathon and one of the pacers near me continued to shout words of encouragement to runners that looked like they were struggling. At one point I wasn't sure if it was tears, sweat, or rain in my eyes. Afterwards I talked to another mom friend that completed the half and asked her if she too got choked up at several points during the race. "Absolutely!" she said, "On mile 12 when I got to the same location where I trained with my son in the stroller, I heard his little voice telling me I could do it and it empowered me to get to the end." I'm not crying, you're crying. 

I knew I was already done for because I was a very emotional person before kids. But as a parent, you feel everything at an eleven, so when your oldest runs into her sister's room to pat her on the head and tell her “Good morning, I love you, Sissie!” it hits you somewhere between your tear ducts and your ovaries.

I’m not sure who coined the term “all the feels” but my money is on a mother.