Hugs. I never experienced them growing up. What is a hug? I did a quick research and found there is a list of types of hugs. Namely 11 from one particular place I

looked. I didn’t know there were so many. But this isn’t a posting of hugging research. It’s about one in particular.

Once upon a time when I was a teenage, I was out working the farm. I was plowing a field off a short distance from the house when I was signaled to come to the house. It seemed my mom had taken off to somewhere unknown to us. She’d ran away. Why?

In the days and few weeks leading up to this I knew my mom had been dealing with a check my dad was supposed to get in the mail and apparently had, but her story was that she’d misplaced in at someone’s home on her Avon route down a road that had washed out from recent rains. That check was supposed to pay our mortgage for an entire year. That was how my dad had it set up seeing we worked the farm and crops came in during the fall when we made our money.

After this wrangling had gone on for some time it finally came to a head when it became apparent that the missing check had taken a different path than the story presented to the family.

Something had happened in her family upstate that required the amount of money the check was for or there about. She had used it for that, but I’m ahead of myself.

My dad was beside himself with a mortgage to pay and the love of his life missing. It took a couple of days, but his sleuthing about found her hiding out with her sister. With a huge weight lifted dad went to get her and bring her home.

I was out somewhere when he came home with her, but when I came in my mom gave me a hug that about squeezed the life out of me. I knew she was sorry for what she’d done, but as evidence of why came to light we all fully understood and forgiveness was only right. To all of us it was a matter of a major life event that had been averted and we all bound ourselves to see it through. My dad negotiated the loan payment and we were able to meet the need.

But the hug. I was never really hugged while growing up. It was like a given that the family loved one another, but displays of such a thing as a hug was not a part of it. I just toughed it up and figured this was the way life was.

Even when I married the first time my first wife never hugged. In fact she didn’t like being touched. No time. The non-hugging status just carried over from my youth and I thought little of it.

When I divorced I found something that is very important and I’d been deprived of a very important part of life. Human contact. My now wife is a touchy-feelie sort. Not only hugging but holding hands while doing most anything from sitting on the couch watching a movie to walking around while shopping or for just a walk around the neighborhood. People have actually stopped and commented that there should be more of this with couples, to which we agree.

Every night before we go off to sleep, my wife and I will spend what we call, well, hugging time in bed at least. It’s the touching that counts. I’ve learned an important lesson with my wife. Hugging is this to me. It’s a transference of spiritual energy between two souls. I have felt it so many times with my wife. I crave to feel the energy she feeds me through our bodily touch. It’s not sensual. It’s spiritual. She’s a blessing to me in so many ways and the gift of God to me.

But above all the hugs I’ve ever had the most powerful remembrance I have is that hug my mom gave me when she’d returned home. It told me she loved me, she wanted forgiveness. It spoke of not wanting to let such a thing happen again. It begged for me to love her back. I always loved my mom. It never made any difference even with all her shortcomings. That hug left and indelible mark on me for my entire life.

I didn’t know why though until I met my second wife. The hugs I got from my mom afterward and my wife brought me to the knowledge of unconditional love. My mom had no idea how that worked, but my wife did and I covet the hugs I get today. It lets me know I’m loved without regret or condition.

If you don’t hug, please find it within yourself to find out what it means. It brings an intimate connection. On all levels.