I Miss Hugs

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I miss hugs. 

This pandemic has brought about so many strange and difficult circumstances. But one of the worst things for me is the sheer fact that I can’t hug anyone (aside from my husband and kids, of course). If you’re a hugger like me, I bet you’re feeling the same way right about now.

I grew up in a large Italian family. I don’t know if you know much about Italian families, but we always greet each other with hugs and kisses. On top of that, it takes 30 minutes to say goodbye to everyone at a gathering, for the same reason. And you know what? It’s wonderful! 

So, I’ve just always been a hugging sort of person. I love greeting close friends and family with a big warm hug. There is just something about the way it brings you closer, and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

But lately, I’ve been missing that. A LOT. 

It’s been seven months since the pandemic started. Eight months of having to stay six feet away from people, and wear a mask everywhere you go. Eight months of no hugs. 

We’ve recently started going places again, besides the grocery store, where other people are present. My boys are playing baseball, we’ve had a few play dates, I’m working outside of the house full-time, we’ve gone out to eat a few times, and we even started going back to church. I’m finally at a point where I feel like I can venture outside my house without feeling afraid of getting sick. And I mean that in all seriousness. 

While it’s great being able to go places and see friends, it’s really hard not to be able to hug them. REALLY hard

In both July and September we took trips to see our families in New York state. You want to know what one of the best parts of those trips were? Getting hugs from my family. It was so sweet to be able to give my mom, dad, sister, and extended family hugs. They didn’t care that we traveled from a state with a high infection rate. They were just so happy to see us, and love on us. It was fantastic! I joyfully took all the hugs I could get in the short time we were there. 

But that was just two weeks out of eight months. Not nearly enough hugs. 

Each time we go to church, it hurts not to be able to hug my friends. There is an ache in my arms, and an ache in my heart with the absence of that intimacy. Each time I see my Fine Arts students at church, all I want is to hold them close, and show them how much I’ve missed them. But I can’t. Sure, I can tell my students and friends with my words that I miss them, but it’s just not the same as being able to pull them into a big bear hug. 

I miss being able to console a friend with a hug when they are feeling down. And, let’s face it, a lot of us are feeling down right now. We need support from our loved ones; we need to feel loved, and like we are all in this together. And we need hugs. Lots of hugs.

Hopefully the day is coming soon when we can once again freely give hugs away. But until then, hug the ones you can, like your family, and don’t take one moment of those hugs for granted. I know that I’ll be taking all the hugs I can get when we travel to NY in December for Christmas, and I’ll cherish each and every one. 

What are you missing right now? 

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