a rare thing

It isn't often you find a friend you can cry in front of. I'm not talking the "something horrible/painful/devastating has happened to me" totally-socially-acceptable crying, but rather the "this movie really affects me", "I'm really down for no specific reason", "this song is incredibly beautiful", or "these memories are hitting me in a very vulnerable place" kind of way. The kind of tears you normally choke down, try hard not to show, turn into a surreptitious wipe of the eye or a casual swipe of the nose, and try to talk around as if there wasn't a huge lump in your throat.

We hide those tears and emotions for a lot of reasons: not wanting to show weakness, not wanting to admit that something affected us to that degree, even not wanting to put the burden of "cheering you up" or "fixing it" on the other person. When you can find a person that you trust enough to cry in front of, and who simply provides a shoulder or quiet acceptance or who just gives you room to feel what you are feeling...

...you are lucky indeed.