"hugs"

Do we all need a hug? What is the power of a hug? Maybe a hug in the physical sense, but also a “hug” in the sense of just showing care for another. I think that everyone needs a “hug” now and then. I also think that “hugs” are becoming less and less ordinary in our lives.

This morning I really thought about what my “hugs” have been recently, and I was amazed at how blessed I really am and how many “hugs” are in our life that we don’t notice.

Of course I get down about Ry being gone and there are definitely times where I wish that I could throw in the towel and surrender to the exhaustion and emptiness. But, I have no choice but to search within myself and take notice of the “hugs” around me.

"Hug" number one occurred after watching my son struggle with loosing his daddy and trying to figure out what he is without his daddy. I talked to Ry about all this and my amazing husband took the time to add a couple more calls per week to simply say “good morning” or “goodnight” to the kids so they consistently hear how he is thinking of them and loves them.

Another “hug” was Ry’s good Army buddy taking Brock under his wing over the last couple weeks and giving Brock some much needed testosterone influence. Brock has not had a crying fit about missing daddy in almost two weeks. Brock looks forward to this time and has somehow located his self confidence that was misplaced for a while. Brock looks forward to spending “Guy time” and I am forever in debt to the support that this has given Brock.
I was watching my beautiful boy begin to sink and pull within and now he has started to turn that around.

“Hug” number three, was my visit to a place that many people don’t know about, choose to not think about or have forgotten about. I visited the Winnebago and Omaha Reservations. While it is very easy to see the outside picture of extreme poverty and dysfunction within their land, what I came away with was the inside picture. I was able to see how even though people have little, go without, or have a sadness in their life that many of us will never be able to fathom, there is a human spirit in everyone that may be masked but is still there. I need to remain aware of what I have in life and not what I don’t have.

And finally my best “hug” of all was coming home from class last night and getting an actual hug from Brock. We all get hugs from our kids, but this hug was different. I don’t know if it was my experience that day, or an actual transfer of emotion from Brock, but I came home and my big man simply came out of his room…. said “mommy”quietly…..and without running or acting silly…. he held his arms out and gave me the longest, warmest hug I have ever felt. It was as if I was being told by everything bigger than me that “it was going to work out and be ok.

“Hugs” have a power all their own. They allow a person to smile and breath.