So, this past weekend I saw Mamma Mia 2 and found myself surprised at how emotional I became towards the end of the movie. For those of you who have not seen it, I’ll try not to give too much away as to not spoil it for you.

In a few of the scenes they were addressing how loss impacted a few of the characters and all the emotions bubbled up to the top quickly and took me by surprise. I found I could not contain my tears and they spilled from my eyes. I had a huge headache from holding it all in. Initially I thought it was odd and was a little annoyed that I couldn’t make it through a movie without losing it.

Then I realized that our past experiences direct our responses to similar “like” experiences, even when the experiences weren’t directly related to us. For example, in the movie the loss of a mother evoked a moment of sadness for me because I too have lost a mom. I was struck by how the daughter’s emotion, the husband’s emotion and the friend’s emotion – all resonated with me. I saw it from all their perspectives. So much pain rolled up into a ball of sadness and tears.

I struggled to keep it together and I wasn’t alone. You could hear the many sniffles throughout the theater, but I focused on my own so that I did not just break out into a full out ugly cry. I thought so many of us truly understood how those characters were feeling and how the actors wanted you, the audience to feel. They did a great job and for me, they were very successful.

I realized that I still, as a daughter, miss my mom every day. While she has been gone for almost 30 years, a girl still needs her mama. I also cried because the character was about to have a baby and something I’d always prayed and hoped for my own daughter, but that was not to happen. We always understood that she would not have a normal life – or as normal as we’d dreamed of. Her death finalized and put to rest any hopes and dreams I had for her. I’ve spent a great deal of time mourning the loss of something. It’s not always a person. Sometimes it’s a dream; a hope; a plan.

The movie was great and in many ways, better than the original so I highly recommend it. Take tissues if you have lost someone or something because it will tug at your broken heart just a little.

Until next time,

M