Beyond the obvious (breakups, deaths, stress, and realizing your fat pants have become your skinny pants), a curated assortment of the more unusual causes for the activation of my tear ducts:

• Any flash mob video, ever.
• Dogs that can do dance choreography.

• Discovering that I had lost my multi-coloured chalk for my kitchen menu chalkboard during my recent apartment move.
• Realizing I tweaked my back again and wouldn’t be able to do the hike I’d planned this evening. (In past, this would have led to a celebration)
• Finally figuring out what I want to do with my blog.
• Looking at my high school yearbook.
• Harry Potter books. Every single time.
• Grey’s Anatomy on an alarmingly regular basis.
• Looking at myself in the mirror and thinking to myself that I looked pretty.
• Walking away from the Echo for the last time when I bought my new car.
• Anytime I’m on an airplane and it’s about to land in Vancouver. It doesn’t matter if I’ve been gone for 2 years or 2 days, it happens anyway!
• That time I got to meet Dooce and I unexpectedly turned into a ridiculous teary fangirl. I had a walk away lest she might discover that I had become a blubbering tween girl at a Justin Bieber concert.
• The Olympics. Especially the theme song from Vancouver 2010, but any Olympics will do.
• Little kids’ dance recitals or plays. I mean, they’re just so proud and they wave to their parents in the audience with big grins! It’s so charming.
• Yoga, occasionally!