A mom was on her knees on the sidewalk, leaning into a baby stroller in front of me, her face nestled next to her little boy’s face as he cried. She held him close, being with him as he cried.
"I just want to cry," he said quietly. In the warm sun, on this quiet residential street, she simply held her cheek next to his, repeating, "You just want to cry, of course." They seemed to have no where to go, no hurry. As I walked slowly past them, she acknowledged my presence with her eyes, and remained completely present with her boy.
Together, they wrapped their arms around each other as he cried quietly, then silently, then not at all. She was his witness, his support, his permission to express himself in his way in that moment.
For a moment, I longed to have easy access to tears freely, without self judgment, guilt or believing I needed to have a reason. I knew that crying was a natural expression and did not need to be about sadness ....or even about anything at all. “What would it be like,” I wondered, “if all women, men, girls and boys, and me, could cry spontaneously when it is there to do, would there be fewer words spoken?" I smiled.........a tear..
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