An Open Letter

...to the teacher of my children who saw me dashing out of the Baccalaureate Mass in a flood of tears,

I'm okay.  Really.  You just caught me at a bad moment!

It's been a couple of long, emotional weeks full of the usual housework, and (attempts at) homeschooling, and end-of-the-year activities.  Add to that a college and a high school graduation, those same children taking international trips, and that tornado devastating Joplin, and you've got a recipe for an emotional basket-case!

I managed not to shed more than a tear or 2 during the weekend of Katie's graduation, and I really thought I was going to hold it together through all of the activities.  But no.  I keep forgetting about The Mass.  I have a tendency to tear up at a beautiful Mass on a good day, and Baccalaureate just pushed me over the edge.  The tears started flowing, a culmination of all the stress of the past 2 weeks, and thinking about my children growing up, the situation in Joplin...

Then I started gasping for breath and realized that I should leave while I still had some semblance of control.

That's when you saw me, in my frantic exit and race to the bathroom, which was mercifully empty and I could sob my heart out.  I was able to pull myself together for the rest of the day, and I hope we'll have no more such outbursts!

Sorry to have alarmed you!