Top 10 Young Sheldon Moments That Made Us Happy Cry

As kids grow up, it’s natural that they start pulling away from their parents and fighting for independence. In this episode, mother and daughter are at odds after Missy gets caught wearing makeup to school and lies about it. An argument leaves Connie taking care of her granddaughter and convincing her to cut her mom some slack. We learn that Mary once was far more free-spirited until a complication during Missy’s birth changed everything. While we don’t get to see it for ourselves, we can’t help but get a little choked up when Mary tells Connie that Missy hugged her—in front of her friends, no less! Can someone pass the tissues?

Sheldon can be quite a handful, but when he moves to Dallas to attend a school for gifted children, his absence is felt strongly at home. Before the big move, the twins have a heart-to-heart where Sheldon compares his sister to string beans, and from that, she deduces that he will miss her. During their first night in separate rooms, Missy tries to reach out to her brother using twin telepathy; as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. While we’re not sure Sheldon heard her, her dad sure did. Missy’s excitement at seeing Sheldon back in his own bed the following morning is just so cute we want to cry.

Most parents don’t expect a call from the principal on their kid’s first day of high school. Then again, most parents don’t have a kid like Sheldon Cooper. It’s no easier for Georgie, who gets teased for being in the same grade as his little brother. In a heartfelt moment, George Sr. has a candid talk with Sheldon about why the Coopers moved to Medford. It’s a nice father-son moment, but we didn’t necessarily think much of it. However, during dinner, the notoriously germophobic Sheldon removes his mitten and holds his dad’s hand. We can immediately see that this small gesture means the world to George. Can we borrow those mittens to dab our eyes?

“Big Bang” fans know that the parent series didn’t always paint the most favorable picture of the Coopers’ patriarch. However, in “Young Sheldon,” we get to see George as a dedicated family man who, yes, had his flaws but was an all-around stand-up guy. Narrator Sheldon often looks back and admits that he wasn’t always fair in his judgment of his dad. Given how Sheldon loves to brag about his eidetic memory and rarely admits he’s wrong, it’s surprising and touching to see him show this empathetic growth. It’s really moving to hear him reexamine his memories under a new lens and realize that he didn’t always give his dad the credit he deserved.

In this season three episode, Sheldon and his dad fly to Pasadena to hear Stephen Hawking give a lecture at Caltech. However, during the pre-flight safety briefing, Sheldon panics and locks himself in the bathroom. George may not always get Sheldon, but he knows exactly how to comfort his son, and it’s so wholesome that our hearts want to burst. It’s some top-tier parenting, and it works! Just as we think we’re done drying our eyes, George and Sheldon arrive at Caltech. Sheldon already starts to see his future there, and as the camera pans out to show the cafeteria where countless iconic “Big Bang” moments take place, we’re bawling all over again.

Almost any George and Missy bonding moment has the power to leave us a little weepy. Their first daddy-daughter date is still one of the most adorable moments in the entire series. Even as Missy believes she's outgrown them, we see there’s nothing George won’t do to put a smile on his little girl’s face. This is also true after Missy first experiences heartache. George just wants to cheer her up but feels helpless. Turns out nothing mends a broken heart quite like playing catch with your old man— and getting revenge using the curveball he taught you to throw. Still, that first part makes our hearts melt every single time.

In “Big Bang,” Sheldon often mocks his mom’s beliefs. However, in “Young Sheldon,” we see that he believes in her perhaps even more than she believes in god. So, in the pilot, when Mary asks her kids who’ll accompany her to church, he steps up despite being a non-believer. At the time, you might’ve said, “Aww,” but then you thought no more about it. Now, let’s fast forward to the series finale. The twins agree to get baptized to appease Mary. However, when the day rolls around, Missy storms out, and Mary expects Sheldon to bail, too. Instead, he reassures her that he’s still going through with it. We’re not crying; you are.

We teared up during Georgie and Mandy’s wedding, almost as if we were right there alongside their families. However, there’s another ‘ManGe’ moment that made us even more emotional. As Mandy’s due date nears, the couple starts talking about baby names. While Alice Cooper would have been undeniably “badass,” the name they ultimately chose warms the cockles of our hearts. After all, Connie was there for the couple pretty much from the moment she found out they were expecting. She stepped up, took Mandy in, and immediately made her feel like family. We can imagine Georgie and Mandy hoped their daughter would inherit more than just a name from her great Meemaw.

As graduation nears, Sheldon begins to panic about starting college. Fortunately, there’s one person who knows exactly how he feels. During one of their bedtime talks, Missy tells him it’s totally normal to feel scared and encourages him to embrace the uncertainty ahead. Sheldon takes her words to heart and shows his appreciation by dedicating his valedictorian speech to her. The look on Missy’s face when he calls her name is so sweet—her smile could light up a room! Even though Sheldon is not exactly a master of emotional expression, he always seems to find heartfelt ways to let his loved ones know how much they mean to him.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Missy Comforts Sheldon, “A High-Pitched Buzz and Training Wheels”
It’s So Adorable That Missy Doesn’t Actually Want to See Her Brother Upset, Even More so That He Hugs Her Back

Mary Comforts Missy After a Breakup, “Ants on a Log and a Cheating Winker”
These Mother-Daughter Moments Are Far & Few Between, So They’re Always Heartwarming

Mary Hugs George, “A Lot of Band-Aids and the Cooper Surrender”
After a Rough Day at Work, a Hug from His Wife Helps Ease the Sting Just a Little

Georgie Gives Veronica a Candy Necklace, “An Entrepreneurialist and a Swat on the Bottom”
It’s a Sweet Gesture That Clearly Means More to Her than Any Expensive Jewelry

An A+ Brother, Sister Moment, “Gluons, Guacamole, and the Color Purple”
He Might Not Want Missy to Know It, but Georgie’s One Proud Big Bro!

Nothing brings on the happy tears quite like a “Big Bang” throwback. Like when Sheldon offered his first hot beverage. Or when we caught up with Sheldon and Amy in the series finale. While those moments brought a tear or two, the season two finale had us full-on ugly crying. Our hearts shattered for Sheldon when no one turned up to his Nobel listening party. We really wanted to give him a hug, but then we found ourselves needing comfort when the montage of Sheldon’s future friends as kids started playing. Even though Sheldon may feel like a neutrino now, it’s comforting to know his quarks are out there, waiting to bond together one day.

Which “Young Sheldon” moment made you shed a few happy tears? Let us know in the comments.