in the grand tradition of lists of things that affect me somehow (see: "things that creep me out" from a few days ago), today i will make a list of things that make me choke up.

1 - the children at my library

today i visited a local school to read books, talk about the library, and tell stories. i ended up telling the one about the bear who draws a picture of his mother. on his way home to show her, he runs into his animal friends who critique his picture according to their own standards (the giraffe thinks the neck is too short, the lion thinks it needs a mane, the crocodile thinks it needs more teeth, the elephant thinks the nose is too small...). bear changes his picture to meet their demands and the result is... well... as one child put it this morning when i was telling the flannel story: "it looks like a monster!"

when bear finally gets the picture home, he shows his mother who says "it's perfect."
"just the way it is?" baby bear asks.
"just the way it is," his mother answers.

and looking at all those beautiful children (who should be loved just the way they are) gazing up at me and listening so intently... it just made me choke up.

2 - applause at the end of a show

i went to see my friends in "into the woods" tonight and they were fantastic and the show was fantastic and the applause was enthusiastic. and silly me, i had trouble woohooo-ing for them as they bowed because i didn't trust my voice.

the same thing happens during my vlog shows - there are times i have trouble calling the last few cues. ridiculous.

i also get sentimental when one of my scene changes goes well. i usually say on headset "oh, you guys, that was great" but it comes out all wavery.

3 - the fact that the library i visited wednesday is on a hiring freeze for an unspecified period of time.