My son put a close-valve on the end of one of our hoses so that he could douse a fire in the fire pit and then turn off the flow without going back to the faucet. After he put out the blaze, he closed the valve, essentially stopping the flow on his end, and went into a different part of the yard, forgetting completely that the water was on. When I went out to ask him something, there was water gushing out in all directions from the spaces between the connector and the faucet and hose itself. There was a small lake forming right above his bedroom window (he is in the basement), which the ducks were happily making squishy mud-puddles in.
It reminded me of when people try to bottle up powerful feelings. You can only do it for so long before it leaks out. Sometimes, rather explosively. Other times, a slow trickle. Regardless of how … it leaks.
I had someone comment to me that they saw a roller coaster of emotions flow across my face during specific time frame. I thought I was concealing the conflictedness within me, but apparently, I leak.
Part of me was bummed that I couldn't control that. The other part of me actually felt relieved.
It made me somehow more human.