Ever hear of 'cried out'?
My momma died last month. I was dry eyed at the funeral.
My emotions are not for public display.
/johnny
You have a point.
My parents died in 2004 and 2008 respectively.
I didn’t cry. Not one tear, at least in public. It’s not that I’m inhuman or something.....I was profoundly saddened by their passings. However, my parents were both older when I was born, and since my earliest childhood, they both told me in a very rationalist manner that they would die, and I would have to accept it, and that I shouldn’t be upset about it, as death is a natural facet of life. Stiff upper lip, so to speak.
When your parents tell you this starting at around the age of four or five, it sinks in. Both of my parents were of the World War 2 generation, with little sentimentality.
As an example....when I was about five, I naturally asked the immortal question, “Where do babies come from?”. My mother handed me a medical encyclopedia that fully explained the process of life from conception to childbirth. Illustrated with pictures of childbirth. She told me to ask her about anything which I didn’t understand fully, and she explained it much in the way I guess a scientist would explain it. She then elaborated on the tremendous responsibilities entailed by creating another life. It sunk in.
So, I do understand what you mean. For some people, emotional displays are simply not for public display.