My kids wanted to show me a You Tube video of a seven year old rapper performing on America’s Got Talent. They wanted me to see this talented little guy. This totally cute little boy got on stage in front of thousands of people if you count those watching on TV. He performed his heart out. And then one of the judges, Howard Stern, hit his NO button. Apparently that means he can’t go on, show over for the seven year old.

The boy began to cry. A very normal emotion. Tears welled up in his little brown eyes. The crowd proceeded to chide Stern. At this point Stern got up from his seat and approached the boy on stage. He offered him a genuine big hug. He then did something that made me want to scream.

Stern told the boy to not cry. That his crying made him feel bad. Then in his dramatic flare he told the crowd and his panel of judges that he wanted to quit. If this job was going to make kids cry, he wanted out.

The absolutely best thing that little boy could do was cry. Heck, I’m 48, never mind that I can barely carry a tune, but I’d cry.

Crying is liquid emotion getting out of us. When ignored I can only imagine what it does. It grows, festers, turns hard and bitter. I get it, Stern felt uncomfortable. No one likes to think they made someone cry. When will crying cease to be the thing we fear?

I hear and see dads and moms on the sidelines of my kids sporting events regularly tell their kids to not cry. Shake it off. Buck up. You don’t need to cry. Like laughter when it bubbles up within us all we can do is let it out. Tears aren’t to be feared. They are to be honored. Loved. Respected.

I can only trust that little boy is going to take this experience and have it grow him. If he still loves rapping, I hope this encourages him to keep practicing.

When will old stereotypes of boys crying stop? Wouldn’t it be lovely if we lived in a world that supported boys emotions instead of teaching them to buck it up and stuff that feeling in a corner?

A release of waterworks is transformational. Tears are energy and acknowledging emotion is life giving, not to mention cup filling. When I have the honor to witness it in another I want to applaud. I don’t. I simply sit still and allow them to feel.

I usually start my own water works show, quietly. Tears are the Holy Spirit coming in for a visit. Let’s practice putting out the welcome mat.

Cheers, Jenny