Sobby Christmas

Yesterday after brunch chez T, I went with E and Little E to see "PS - I Love You". E is about my age. Little E is 20. All three of us sobbed through the movie. We weren't alone. You could hear people all around the theater giving in to snuffly sniffles and fumbling in their purses for Kleenex.

When it was over, we were all wrung out and exhausted, but the movie does have a happy ending.

E said, "If Kathy Bates has a chance, I think we do, too." Um...welll... I'm not placing any bets on it, but honey, if that's what you need to think, you go right ahead.

We got into our separate cars and wended our way home. It was nearly dark and for dinner, I nuked the little container of homemade pierogi that Annushka sent me home with. While I ate, I watched "My Dog Skip".

Just as with "Marley and Me" and nearly every other dog-centric movie or book I can think of, this one made me bawl anew. I found one of my big hankies and cried into that for the last half of the movie and then for another hour afterwards.

It was cathartic, all that crying, and it fit the bill of what women know to be "a good cry", which I haven't have for a very long time. I hadn't wept at GiGi's passing - I know my reaction time to this kind of thing is at least a week, so in a way, it was right on schedule.

(Just to clarify for any guy reading this, a good cry is usually nothing personal, tends to unravel and dissolve an ugly growing knot of tangled emotions, and leaves the crier feeling pleasantly exhausted, washed clean, and ready to move on. Do not attempt to soothe away a good cry - it serves a purpose and is a natural process, although it is nice to have a kiss on the forehead and something cold and refreshing to drink as the process nears its end.)

I took some decongestants, washed my face, got into my pjs and turned out the light by 9. "My Dog Skip" had me holding onto Dylan for dear life and last night, his cuddling down with me was what I needed.

As for "PS - I Love You", this hit all the right buttons at all the right moments and gratifyingly paid attention to every woman's intuition by having the heroine swerve off the 'thought he was the right guy but so clearly not' guy at just the right minute and in just the right way.

Oh - and email me now to arrange a group tour to Galway. It's one of my favorite places on this earth. If we hit it just right, we might make the matchmaking festival in Ballynagrah.