Coming home!

I spent ten minutes crying the other night. 

I was scrolling on my phone mindlessly in the middle of the night, checking out soccer and baseball scores, when I came across video snip-its of military members’ returning home to their families.

Many of the videos were surprise returns: the young Army private surprising his teacher-mother at her school; parents giving their young son a green camouflage cover (hat) to hold in his hands, while his brother, a Marine corporal surprises him from behind; or a father opening the door to his house to find his daughter in her Navy dress whites staring back at him.

I’m always surprised how these videos move me. I’m an emotional sort. It doesn’t take much to grab my imagination and pull me into a story, but I react the exact opposite way when I feel like the emotion is canned or forced. The skeptic in me automatically turns away and takes umbrage with the video creator. “How dare someone try to play with my emotions!”

With the videos I saw the other night, I knew right away what they were going for — they wanted to bring on the sentimental waterworks and it angered me — but they still drew me in.

I felt like I was playing “Tag” with a group of friends and got tagged right away a minute after the game started and needed someone to un-tag me.

I found myself questioning myself: How’d I get tagged so quickly. The video producers were obvious with their tricks, they may as well have put the directions right on the video screen: insert tears here.

I’m sure that missing my own son who is in the United States Marine Corps played a part in my emotions. In addition, my habit of putting myself in the family members shoes played a part too in pulling me into the videos.

If the Coming Home videos weren’t enough, I came across Tara Davis-Woodhall’s celebration of her Olympic berth and women’s long jump title at the Track & Field Trials. The look between her and her husband Hunter Woodhall looked so pure that the waterworks started up again.

Oh brother I thought to myself, I need to go to bed. What kind of stories affect you?