Three TV Shows that Make Me Grab for the Tissue Box

Warning! Don't even try to watch this show and not cry your eyes out during each and every episode. Male or female, I dare you to not be bawling like a baby at the end of each and every episode. I've tried. It just doesn't work. It's a show where they locate family members, such as adopted children, birth parents, etc. The two hosts of the show are also adoptees, so they're sensitive and caring, and cry right along with the show's participants.

Just to give you an idea of what you're up against while watching, picture a lady talking about how she got pregnant at age 16 and how since it was back in the day where you were scorned and no one would help you, you had no choice but to give the baby up for adoption. Sit back in your chair and listen as she talks about that tender 15 minutes of time she got to hold her baby boy in the delivery room before they ripped him out of her arms and took him away. Okay, maybe that's a bit melodramatic, but that's how it felt to me as I was listening. All these years, she wondered how that little boy grew up and if he was all right. Knowing that he is now a man in his twenties, she wonders if he hates her for giving him up for adoption. Fast forward to one of the hosts breaking the news to the young man, who, by the way, is very gracious and mature and says he understands why she felt she had to give him up, and yes, he would love to meet her.

Fast forward again to the day when they meet. Son is standing at the top of a hill. Mom is standing at the bottom and sees the silhouette of her baby boy, now a man, with the sun shining behind him. Mom walks up the hill, her heart pounding out of her chest, tears streaming down her face along with ours, and they finally reach each other and embrace. They embrace for the first time since he was a newborn. Damn, I'm even crying now writing this. And this is just one story out of many featured on this incredible show.

I have just one gripe about Find My Family that I want to mention. That hill that I talked about at the end of the show is a very long steep hill. It's a side of a mountain really. The people involved are already nervous and under a lot of stress just from the emotions of this event. Why put them through a physical challenge as well? To watch the person at the bottom of the hill, heavily panting as they make their way up the hill, is quite distracting. Instead of thinking about the reunion about to take place within a minute or two, we're worried that the Mom will have a heart attack before reaching her son's arms. I wish the show would find another meeting place. Perhaps something on a flat piece of property. Just a suggestion.

Extreme Makover Home Edition

You'd have to live under a rock in order to not know the phrase .... "Move That Bus!". Whether it's because of a family member's disease, or a weather-related event, the family receiving a new home is always worthy. Ty Pennington is a hoot. I love him. He loves to shout, and he loves demolition. In the beginning of the show, when Ty and his crew reach the intended family's house in order to give them the good news, he gets out his bullhorn and screeches into it, very loudly. The family members, suddenly realizing what's about to happen, come running out of the house and collide into Ty and company.

After a somber tour of the family's old dilapidated, moldy, and unsafe home, the family is sent away on a vacation, usually to Disney World. By now, a few tears are shed everywhere, both on TV and in all our homes. Look at this poor family. How could they live in a house like that. Oh and look at them now. Look how happy the kids are to be going to Disney World. sniff. sniff.

I think this next part is Ty's favorite part of the show. It's demolition time. Whether it's a bulldozer, or some sort of explosive stuff, or just a crew of men with big sledge hammers, Ty is screeching into his bullhorn and describing the ongoing devastation to the old place. And the lucky family is usually watching it on a laptop while sitting in sunny Florida sipping their lemonades. Peering into the laptop, they also get to see the hundreds of people who volunteered to help build their new house. It's very heartwarming.

The final part of the show is when they bring the family home, have everyone shout the famous "Move That Bus!" line, and that's the moment when the tears start flowing uncontrollably. The family is awestruck by the sight of their new home right in front of them, and even the most macho man in the family can't help himself from crying like a girl. It's okay though. We understand. He knows his world and his family's world will be wonderful from now on.

American Idol

Has there ever been a show that manages to somehow and in so many ways tug on our heartstrings as much as American Idol? I can remember the very first season when Kelly Clarkson was named the winner. If you watched that, you can never forget the moment she was announced the winner and she had to sing that song "A Moment Like This", which was so fitting for what was happening to her. I don't know how she managed to sing even a few lines of that song at that particular moment, because sitting at home in my living room, I couldn't even speak.

Since then, American Idol has had us watching hundreds of young kids, with their little hearts beating in anticipation of having their dreams fulfilled. The audition shows are full of potential singers who stand in front of the judges and they know this is their moment of truth. They are either going to be chosen to "go to Hollywood" or they're going back to their hometown and making more fries at the local fast food restaurant. Everybody's crying. They cry if they make it, and they cry if they lose.

The Hollywood shows are brutal. The kids have come all this way, however, most of them will be eliminated by the time it's all over. Then when the actual season gets underway, we all usually have our favorites picked out, and we suffer with them after each performance when they're being judged, and we celebrate with them when they are being praised for their talents and are able to continue next week. The emotional side of the American Idol show far outweigh the actual singing. By the end of the season, we find ourselves emotionally invested in one or more of the contestants. And we cry when they lose and we cry if they win. It can be exhausting.

Reality TV is sometimes bashed by a lot of people as being silly and dumb. But there are many reality shows, such as the previous three, that actually are very good, as well as entertaining. These particular shows are the ones where I find myself wiping the tears away the most. I always make sure the tissue box is close at hand.