N is for Noah Calhoun

Noah Calhoun is a character in The Notebook, a novel by Nicholas Sparks.

Noah is the epitome of what makes a great man. He loves Allie with a fierceness and loyalty that most of us could learn from. 

Here are two of my fave excerpts from this amazing novel.... to Allie from Noah

 The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected. Maybe they always have been and will be. Maybe we’ve lived a thousand lives before this one and in each of them we’ve found each other. And maybe each time, we’ve been forced apart for the same reasons. That means that this goodbye is both a  goodbye for the past ten thousand years and a prelude to what will come.

I love you, Allie. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I've ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, every day we are together is the greatest day of my life. 

I will always be yours. And, my darling, you will always be mine. 

Check out other bloggers and the details participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge HERE.

There's No Crying In Baseball

Tear jerkers. There are movies and books that, no matter how many times I watch and/or read them, I always end up in tears. Crying isn't a bad thing. I firmly believe it's good for the soul. A release of sorts that frees us and makes us feel whole again.

Here are a few movies and books that make the water works flow for me.

A League of Their Own (1992)
"There's no crying in baseball," Coach Jimmy Dugan says to Evelyn.
Well, sorry Coach, but I cry at this movie every single time.
Maybe it's the sisterly bond in the movie that's tattered and slowly put back together again near the end.
Or perhaps it's because I feel connected to it. I played catcher in softball from 6th grade - Senior year and loved every minute of it. And the girls were like family to me.
I don't know the exact reason for the tears.
I do know, I cry. And have uncontrollable sobbing when **SPOILER** Coach Dugan has to give one of his players the news that her husband was killed in war. It's a gut wrenching thing that tears me up every time.

Marley & Me (author: John Grogan)
Marley & Me (Movie: 2008)
I watched this movie and cried my eyes out. The dog brought such comical chaos to the family, but yet gave love and loyalty ten-fold. Animals are special like that. Susan, a dear friend of mine, recommended I read the book. So, I did because 1) Susan is one of the best advice givers out there and 2) I love to read.
I ended up feeling even stronger emotion when I read it than seeing it played on the screen.

The Notebook (novel: Nicholas Sparks)
The Notebook (movie: 2004)
I'm a sucker for Nicholas Sparks. He has a beautiful way of telling a love story, you feel like you're right there in his book. The tears shed here are bittersweet ... Noah loves Allie like no other and will go through whatever life throws at them to show her, but they go through hell to get there.







Steel Magnolias (1989)
Six women, a hair salon, gossip galore.

But it's the friendships - kindred spirits
that these women share that make the movie.
**SPOILER** One of them passes away.
The funeral scene crushed me -
the mother was in such pain for
her deceased daughter, I ended up
bawling my eyes out.



Are there any movies or books that cause you to cry or get choked up? Or do you prefer to steer clear of sappy films?