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!