When we Meet Again

It's impossible to not feel close to one's characters when writing them. When writing their story. They react as you create or destroy the world around them, and because of that you feel what they feel, even when it is not how you would react.

I've gotten to a very sentimental section in revising my first draft, and I'm sorry to say that I don't relate to my characters and their reactions nearly as much as I did when I was writing this set of scenes. I distinctly remember my own emotional response then, but now--I've crossed out most of it! I've even made a note in my notebook that says "less crying."

But I wonder, does it have more to do with the distance that's created in reading something slowly? I'm partly editing as I go along, and therefore spend close to ten minutes on certain pages. Or is it simply because I'm now more objective, and realize that my characters are a bit wimpy in this section, and completely in contrast with the kinds of characters I want them to be/become?

Has anyone encountered a similar problem? Do you raise your brow at a certain character's response and wonder what, exactly, you were thinking at the time?