Amans lacrimae wrote:

Hello Carrotcake, as always, your obs are amazing. I remember your husband doesn't shed that many tears, was he more tearful this time?
...

Did his face become completely wet or were his tear streaks still visible, did his tears go beyond his cheeks? 

This was a couple years ago, so I don't remember exactly, but I think he sheds more tears when he's holding back his sobs. He did sob a lot, but he also spent time holding back sobs because he didn't want to interrupt his own watching of the movie. I think the tension of holding back the sobs somehow causes him to produce more tears and release them down his cheeks. Generally, he doesn't hold back sobs at all; he just immediately progresses to rapid-fire sobs without a period of biting back tears or having them well up. Usually when he does produce more tears, there will be a couple of streaks, along with a pool of tears that starts beneath his eyes and gradually coats his face.

TorNorth wrote:

I've got quite a lot of frustrating observation of women sobbing quite intensely but no lip curl. This is why I think the lip curl element is "built in" to the face for some people but not others. Could be wrong though.

I was alone that night. I was quite taken aback by the intensity.

I agree - in the same way that everyone's smile curves differently, everyone opens their mouth differently when they laugh, etc., I think facial and muscular structure must determine the size and shape of the lip curl. There are so many shapes that could be classified as a lip curl: pulled back, pulled down, lips more open or closed in the center, and of course, a full bulge that completely engages the chin. It's fascinating to me how everyone cries so differently (in appearance, sound, volume of tears) despite the commonalities that we all recognize.
 

Amans lacrimae wrote:

I was starting to miss your self obs, and this is the first time, I think, that you describe the prelude to crying, how you felt the pressure of tears behind your eyes, the gradual facial changes, how you felt the sob coming before sobbing, the diaphragm tension that caused your breath change while your lips started to curl, then the climax when you reached your bed, the tears and the sobs finally showed up. This crescendo is breathtaking, like a piece of classical music, it starts in a pp gradually going all the way to a ff. Simply love it.

I never thought anyone could cry out of hunger, like your husband did. I love how you allow your tears fall unchecked, this time landing in your boyfriend's chest and shirt, I expected he wouldn't allow them to fall all the way, since he usually wipes them. Guess this time both of you were too tired to wipe each other's tears.
As expected, you had to release the tension this caused as soon as you woke up. I know this pandemic issue is driving all of us crazy, and I understand that arguing is a usual cause of tears, don't worry, I don't think you argue too much

As a classical musician who played professionally for 12 years, I love your analogy!

I think he didn't wipe my tears because 1. we were arguing rather than being overtly intimate, and 2. it was getting dark and we didn't turn on the light, so I expect he couldn't really see my tears. And yes, we were definitely too tired/worn out.

My husband and I had a stupid argument last night that led to a lot of crying (and more crying as we made up/continued our conversation this morning).

We were downstairs starting dinner when our disagreement began, and eventually, he said something in frustration that hurt my feelings. He stormed past me into the kitchen, and I immediately felt the pressure of tears behind my eyes. I picked up my phone and walked toward the stairs as my face crumbled, and as I ascended the stairs, a sob welled up in my chest. I walked to the bedroom silently with my face contorted in a lip curl and my stomach/breath tensed, and it wasn't until I crawled under the covers that I began to sob in quiet gasps. I could hear my H putting down whatever he was chopping in the kitchen and walking up the stairs to me, and I pulled the cover over my head and cried into the pillow. He climbed into bed next to me and put his arms around me, telling me he was sorry for what he said and pulling me over to him. I cried for a couple more minutes, and then we continued our conversation.

We talked for probably an hour and a half, and every few minutes, I would start to cry a bit again while talking, letting tears stream freely down my face and onto my shirt/the pillow/the covers/his chest and shirt. Eventually, he started to cry as well, a few seconds of rapid-fire sobs every few minutes. When he would cry, I would put my arms around him and let him cry into my chest. His lips were pulled back and contorted when he looked up at me, and his eyes were pink (he doesn't produce many tears).

Eventually, we realized we had not eaten for a very long time and were starting to feel quite unpleasant. We were both getting headaches, and we were no longer being completely rational because of our hunger. As we stood up, he started to feel dizzy from dehydration and hunger, and it took him a minute to stand up. I was closing curtains as he trudged toward the stairs, and suddenly I heard him sobbing loudly. I ran

TorNorth wrote:

Wonderful obs! Too bad she covered her mouth. You think maybe there's a particular time when these therapy sessions happen

To clarify, this wasn't one of the therapy sessions, just some other person who happened to be crying in the same coffee shop (unbelievably). But that's a good question! I didn't think to notice whether the two therapy sessions I witnessed happened at the same time. I should check back through my texts, since I was definitely texting my H about them.