I love this and the metamorphosis into tenderness that you describe. I've been through a similar change myself, and what was once toughness meant to camouflage vulnerability is now soft-heartedness born of experience. I love the birds that fly around our feeder, and was so glad your story had a happy ending. Someone told me once, "Tears are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of the Holy Sprit alive and at work in our hearts."