I Was A Hot Crying Mess During Toy Story 3

In case no one’s told you yet, you’re going to cry when you go see Toy Story 3, and not just because of the price -$58.50 for 2 adults, 2 kids -of the 3D movie tickets. I don’t care how hard and, “I never cry in movies,” you think you are, you’re gonna shed at least one tear.

Or, if you’re me, you’re going to turn into a hot crying mess with snot running all out of your nose, and rivulets of mascara streaming down your cheeks. I didn’t even have a box of tissue, my biggest “I just had plastic surgery” sunglasses or a jacket to throw over my head to disguise my wreckery. I just had to slink out of the theater looking like a hot crying mess.

Going to the movie was part of a slew of Father’s Day activities and, unfortunately for my appearance, I didn’t read a single review of it so I had no clue I’d be turning into an emotional wreck. My only clue that I might be in trouble came when I posted on my Twitter feed that I was at The Grove’s theater to see Toy Story 3 and one of my followers replied that it might make me cry. I dug through my bag for a tissue and came up 100% empty-handed. I told myself, “It won’t be so bad. I’ll probably just get a little teary-eyed.”

Clearly, I was delusional. I’m not going to give away any major plot points, but I knew I was in trouble when the tears started up five minutes in. The film was a total emotional rollercoaster and I cried several times throughout – and then the last 10 minutes hit and I was a blubbering, sobbing mess.

Sure, I cried because I thought about my own attic-stored toys, and my treasured secret-agent teddy bear, Adam -12 – and now he’s stuck in a dresser drawer. But Toy Story 3 really made me reflect on how life changes way too fast and my kids are growing up so quickly.

At the end of the film, my six year-old, Mr. T, turned to me, threw his arms around me and said, “I love you, mommy,” and he hugged me tight for about a minute. That just made me cry more. Finally, we were the last people in the theater and T said, “I’m not gonna be small enough to carry much longer, am I?" I shook my head no and he asked, "Mommy, will you pick me up and carry me?”

I picked him up and carried him out of the theater and all the way to our car – added bonus: hiding my red, tear-stained face in his cheeks was good camouflage for me.

These moments are so fleeting. My nine year-old, Mr. O, is so tall he comes to my shoulder and he wears almost the same size shoe as me. I can’t pick him up anymore. I wish there’d been a flashing sign saying, Warning! This Is The Last Time You'll Be Able To Pick Up Your Son! If I'd known, I would’ve treasured it more, held him a little tighter, and hesitated to put him down.

I can’t stop time, and I want my boys to grow up – I’m so excited to see what amazing men they're going to become, but at the same time, it’s hard.

And now I'm going to go cry again. At least this time I have some tissue on hand.

Comments

I teared up too. It was such a good movie. I've got toys in my mom's attic. Barbie dolls, stuffed animals and other 'girl' toys I was hoping to pass along. Thankfully I have nieces.
Lisa..... said…
I cried too, but the kids didn't. It must be that oh my gosh my kids are growing up way too fast feeling we have. And going away to college soon. My daughter is going to be 15 this summer. And I'd like a pause button please. I need a little more time!
And this is not the last time in the growth of your sons that you will get this way. All of my children handed me tissues on the way to their high school graduations...I was even a mess at their 8th grade graduations. I totally understand and probably would have cried too!
mosaicmama said…
my husband is taking our 7 (almost 8!) year old and i'll be home with the 2y/o and 6mo old. having the wide gap between the first and last AND the close spacing between the last two, is a constant reminder of how fast time goes by. it seems like an eternity ago that the oldest was the middle one's age. and the middle one is only 20 months older than the youngest one but has grown so much. i wish i could slow things down *just a little*. sometimes our oldest falls asleep when we let him stay up late watching movies with us and hubby will carry him upstairs and we always laugh at how big he is in his arms. oh and i cry at graduations, school play's, you name it!
Remnants of U said…
Thanks for the warning. I'm sure the review that I read didn't mention that. However, he's never been a mom.

Yep, my 22 y.o. is too big to carry, but he's letting me take care of him as he heals from oral surgery. His face is so swollen I did think about his fat cheeks as a baby.
April said…
I too was a hot crying mess!
allison sara said…
your boys are precious and handsome! I don't blame you... looking over newborn pics of my son, it's hard to believe it's been 3 months already. he's doubled his weight!
Liz Dwyer said…
Mel,
I still have toys in my parent's attic too. Or at least I think I do. They may have chucked it all by now.

Lisa,
My 9 year-old admitted that he started to cry in the last five minutes. Gosh, 15 used to seem so far away but now that my boy is almost 10, it seems like it's right around the corner.

Carolyn,
Oh I bet. I cried at their Pre-K and K graduations so I will probably need to take a sedative of some sort before the high school ones!

Mosaicmama,
One of the hardest things is that when my eldest was a baby, we were so broke I didn't have the money to buy a new camera so I don't have many pictures of him as a little baby. I didn't even have the $ to buy the pics they take in the hospital. And now I try to remember what he looked like as a baby and it's so hard. I feel awful about that.

Remnants,
Aww, poor thing having oral surgery. Ouch. That's no fun... but how nice that you get to take care of him. ;)

April,
I'm glad it wasn't just me. I don't know how folks could walk out of there completely unaffected.

Allison,
Thank you for saying so! They change very quickly. We have a door in our place where we've marked how tall they are and it's weird to see how much they've grown in such a short amount of time. My eldest grew almost an inch per month between December and February.
mosaicmama said…
oh liz, that's a tough one :( i think we all have the 'i did more for/less for X child' with each one. our digital camera broke when we had our first and we couldn't replace it so his first bday is all disposable camera pics, you know how those turn out! i also was better about writing letters every month to my 2nd child but i email them to myself and i have a journal of handwritten letters to my firstborn but not many. there is so much i only thought of or had the resources for with my last two but then i like to think of how my firstborn is the only one to have the experience of being an only child, of having all of me to himself for those years before his sister and then brother came along. photographic evidence is priceless but the memories in their hearts are beyond priceless. my firstborn taught me how to be a mama, even if there are very few pictures to prove it!
Sundry said…
I'm glad to hear they're still doing a good job. Pixar has it right. I was having lunch with a friend the other day and told her about your review. We are both glad for the tissue warning!

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