I am a proponent of the full-body hug.
Let me note that back at my previous church, which I left in 2000, I was known by a few as the Trinity Hugger. Which someone always liked to say was better than being the Trinity Mugger.
At my church, and also among my in-laws, there are people I like to hug and who like to be embraced. However, COVID – it’s always COVID – put the kibosh on that for a good while.
My wife was not a natural hugger, in my experience. Sometimes, she’d give me a side hug, which was better than nothing. Often, though, she d go to bed, and I wouldn’t even know until I saw the bedroom door closed – to keep out the cats, I should add.
At some point, she suggested, and I eagerly agreed, that we should hug twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Not one of those obligatory ones either, when you do it while holding something, but a full-body hug, with hands now free of everything.
This has made me very happy.
Taking care
I don’t know precisely when FBH, as we call it, started. I’m fairly sure it was after my wife’s leg trauma last fall. It wasn’t intentionally a quid pro quo, but I’ve noted that she’s better at taking care of my emotional needs after I unexpectedly had to take care of her physical needs.
As a result, I think we’re in a better place. We’re always punning each other, but historically, hers had often been groan-worthy to my ears. For whatever reason, her banter is sharper. This is situational humor, so I can’t recreate any specific examples, but it’s true.
This is our 24th wedding anniversary. There’s less than a 50/50 chance she’ll read this since she seldom reads my blog. Moreover, I’ve told her that I ALWAYS write about her on her birthday and about us on our anniversary. It used to bug me a little, but now I’m at, “Hey, it’s her choice.”
Happy anniversary, dear. We should get a newer picture.
Happy anniversary! Our 39th anniversary is this Friday and I’m pretty sure my husband has never read my blog
but he isn’t reading other people’s blogs either. We had a man, now deceased, at our church who was a full body hugger. He always asked me why I turned to the side when he hugged me. I told him that I didn’t want to full body hug another man besides my husband. He was known as the Trinity hugger, too (Trinity United Methodist). He hugged everyone – men and women alike. Our son would put a row of chairs or a pew between himself and our hugger. I was not a hugger prior to covid but find myself hugging others more often since.
Happy Anniversary! Hugs and love to you both!