Tuesday, March 29, 2011

...And she hugged me.

We go through our days in full throttle mode. We may even push that snooze button a few times before making it to our feet. But we do. And for the most part, with all our imperfections, I believe we do it well. The glass balls are tossed up...and here we go; jugglers of the mundane, yet important tasks that so many depend on to be accomplished.

And just like that.. words are uttered, hands are stretched out, hugs are shared, a smile exchanged and they send you into a place where it all makes sense.

As a teenager in high school, I was constantly rushing.. to my locker, to practice, to my friend's place, to a movie..
and sooner or later (usually, later) I would come home. In university I was still rushing.. to class, to work... and I would eventually, come home. And as sure as the the sun rises in the east.. my mother would be there. She would greet me.. with a hug. And just like that.. the day made sense.

It's almost impossible to describe the sensation. It's nothing you can bottle, or wrap, or even fully understand. I just felt it. I felt it through my whole rushed out, fatigued body. And if there is one thing I remember of her, it's that. Her embrace.. her hug, her welcome home. The "all is good, you are safe, you are loved, the hectic day is behind you now, you can rest" feeling washed over me like a warm blanket on a stormy winter night.

It is also,  the one thing I miss the most.

Tonight, I gave my daughter a good night hug as I usually do. She softly says, as she's nestled in my embrace, "There's nothing like your hug, Ma". And just like that..the day made sense to me again. And I realized, I had just passed on the indescribable, the intangible.. the love, the safety, the warm blanket.

I'm here to tell you, when we're gone, our loved ones will remember how we made them feel. Not what we bought them, not even what we said to them. But how we made them feel.

Hug each other. Hugs are good.

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