Hugs

The pandemic put an end to hugs. Social distancing does not allow for hugs.

I did not discover the pleasure of hugging until my later twenties. Neither my family or my first husband were huggers.

It was only when I lived with a family of huggers that I discovered the warmth and comfort of sinking into someone's arms. Since then I've had many friends, male and female, who give good hug.

Articles have been written about how hugging is healthy, reducing things like blood pressure.

The pandemic did not stop my husband and me from hugging. After all we did not social distance in bed, nor when we were moving around the kitchen. 

Two kinds of hugs are possible.

• Frontal tummy to tummy, arms gathering the other in.
• Rear where one is sitting and the other goes behind and wraps their arms around the hugee, often resting one's head on the hugee and even dropping a kiss or two on the head.

This past week I resumed hugging with some trepidation. All the adult hugees were vaccinated, although I did not ask to see their QR codes proving it.

Two hugs were given because the friends needed comfort.

The others were the family of my French "daughter." As we were leaving I felt arms around my waist as her precocious frighteningly intelligent eight and a half year old proved his future as a great hugger. 

There are a few friends who I used to hug, I won't because of they aren't vaccinated. I miss that. With most friends, vaccinated or not we used fist bumps or a hugging motion, a kinda virtual hug. 

Some day hugging will no longer carry a moment of trepidation and will just represent warmth, caring, sharing.