Those Were Tears of Joy…..

Those Were Tears of Joy…..

By Frederick J. Blahnik

 

 

 

Those were tears of joy you saw as you left home this morning.

That’s right, tears of joy…..

Not tears of sadness

Not tears of mourning

Not tears of farewell

No, those were tears of joy you witnessed as you drove off all alone this morning.

And that’s the absolute truth too and the way life always should be…..

 

Those were tears of joy you saw as you left home this morning.

That’s right, tears of joy…..

My expression may have looked sad and grievous

And my body language may have suggested forlornness and despair

My voice doubtless sounded tremulous and unnaturally emotional when I opened my mouth to speak

But, trust me, those were tears of joy you witnessed as you drove off all alone this morning.

And that’s the absolute truth too and the way life always should be…..

 

Those were tears of joy you saw as you left home this morning.

That’s right, tears of joy…..

Is it possible to be happy and sad at the precise same time?

Can one’s heart be bursting with pride and splitting apart tumultuously at the exact same instant?

Can an integral part of you die deep inside…..even as new growth simultaneously germinates and begins to flourish in a different part of your body?

Can the long-term departure of a loved one ever be a certifiably happy occasion?

I don’t have any answers for the preceding questions, but I do know those were tears of joy you witnessed as you drove off all alone this morning.

And that’s the absolute truth too and the way life always should be…..

 

Those were tears of joy you saw as you left home this morning.

That’s right, tears of joy…..

Joy that you feel such overwhelming confidence in your natural abilities that you possess no qualms about moving fifteen hundred miles away from the house and town in which you grew up

Joy that you are leaving of your own volition and not because of a major, non-negotiable rift that developed between the two of us and tore our relationship apart, rendering a severance inevitable

Tears of joy that where once stood a trembling, uber-dependent tiny lass in our pastoral driveway now stood a magisterially self-assured young woman

Yes, those were indeed tears of joy you witnessed as you drove off all alone this morning.

And that’s the absolute truth too and the way life always should be…..

 

Oh yes, that is definitely the absolute truth too and way life always should be in an ideal world…..

Because, pray tell, what is the alternative?

What would serve fitfully in its stead?

Possible answer:  A progeny raised under my roof and under my direct tutelage for eighteen years who would now only futilely yearn for the spunk and courage to live exclusively on her own–a three-hour plane flight away from the very comfortable nest in which she grew up–using strictly her wits and her best judgment to solve the myriad problems she will most assuredly face as she navigates a ragged pathway through a life far from home?

No, thank you…..

I strongly prefer the former

Those were tears of joy you saw as you left home this morning, yes, but I must confess I’m not telling you the full, unadulterated truth here either.  That joy and consummate pride I alluded to earlier—real, sincere, genuine as a toddler’s hug–will nonetheless take a fair while to sink in and register with me.

Indeed, there were other emotions at play as you drove away this morning also, and those rogue emotions may well have contributed partly to the tearfall…..