Can a picture guarantee a happy feeling?

Thank you, Lord, for another day.

This morning I added a picture of my Granddaughter Lily to the blog, and it really classes up the joint, I must say! I stole it from my daughter Megan's blog, and it has fast become one of my favorite pictures of all time. I'm also using it as my screen saver ... and I'm thinking about getting it as a tattoo ... OK, not really on the tattoo part ... but I do love this picture! (And this baby and her parents).

And you have to admit, there is something special about a smiling and laughing baby. The pureness - the clear eyes and the unabashed joy of the moment - the simplicity of the knowledge that all that existed for her in that moment was pure laughter. At that moment, she was uncontrollably drawn to just throw back her head and let all the joy she was feeling just spill out all over the world no matter who was or wasn't watching, or how the world would react. It was just her and her happiness, and it was a gift to catch it on camera and record it for posterity.

Which led me to this thought: I have spontaneously burst into tears with happiness twice in my life. Once when I first saw my daughter Megan after she was born, and the second time when I hugged Megan after she gave birth to Lily. I have cried many times with feelings of loss and grief, but I thank God that at least twice in my life I have experienced emotional joy that surged past the societal barriers that are established to help identify "real men", and sobbed tears of unrestrained joy and relief.

And now I'm thinking, "Why did 'they' pick crying as being taboo?", and by "they" I mean my father, and his father, and his father before him, etc. I mean, what if the taboo was smiling (although I think a lot of men have this confused as well ...), or even laughter itself? Think of a world without laughter ... how dark would that be? It's interesting, isn't it, that in other cultures we see men crying uncontrollably at funerals, but it's a TV news shot when a single tear rolls down the cheek of an American soldier mourning the loss of a comrade. Is strength really shown by the society that keeps its emotions in control? Is a man who is willing to display his emotions really less of a "man"? And what's the deal with women who tell me their spouses never "open up" to them, but who decry a guy "being a cry baby." What's up with that conundrum, girlfriends? In the mixed mesages section of relationship, this is one I find particularly disturbing.

Oh well, little does it matter to me. My die has been cast. I well up with tears during a Hallmark commercial. Especially that Hallmark commercial when the soldier is calling home to his mother and she gets his card, and then he shows up at the door? That gets me every time. And don't even make me watch the ending of Field of Dreams again ... "Hey Dad, want to have a catch?" ... water works, baby. Emotional tsunami - run for your lives!

But hey - that's just me.

Have a great day - and know God loves you!