The Hug

Once again Reader's Digest has come to my aid assuring me one more time that I am not an odd ball. Or, at least, I am an odd ball along with at least one other person. (Actually, two, because I believe my aunt has written about this, too).

This is about the hug. You know the one. Not the hello-relative-I-haven't-seen-in-a-year hug, but the hey-friend-I-saw-yesterday hug, or worse, the goodbye-friend-I-just-hugged-a-few-hours-ago hug.

It's not that I don't like the people I'm hugging. In fact, I love pretty much all of them. I just don't like hugging. I'm awkward at it. I don't know which direction to turn my head. I don't know whether to go for a frontal hug or a side hug. I don't know which arm should go up and which should go down. When the hug is over I'm left questioning if I did it right and wondering if it felt as awkward to the other person as it did to me.

Because of this you'll often find me running for the door at the end of an evening, purposely juggling the baby, the diaper bag, my purse, and oh yeah, I better grab that piece of trash on the floor, too!

This has not gone unnoticed. Several of Jason's friends have called me out on it. Not in a mean way, just pointing out that they're not blind to my sneaking out ways. I've tried to explain myself once or twice, but really only succeeded in making myself feel more awkward because now I wonder what the appropriate protocol is when everyone is aware of my dislike for hugs, but every other person in the room has just hugged.

Take a read of this article by Juliet Lapidos for an eerily perfect description of my feelings about the hug, how and why I avoid it, and the best solutions to overcome it.

A few quotes from the article that were just too perfect:

"...with the right person- blood relations, my boyfriend, close friends- I enjoy a well placed hug. By well-placed, I mean before of after a lengthy separation, as a form of congratulation ("You're getting married!"), as a means of consolation ("You're getting divorced?"), or to ward off hypothermia. That's about it"

"So why is it when I go over to your house for dinner, you wrap your arms around me, even though I saw you last Friday at the movies? And why do you come at me again after the meal is over, even though we hugged not three hours ago and I'll probably see you next week?"

And my very favorite...

"The nod, though, can be very effective when combined with a smile, especially when executed with confidence and one hand already on the door handle."

The only person I really hug on a daily basis, actually, more like an hourly basis, is Drew. I just can't get enough of his hugs. I'm sure he'll begin to hate me for it, but I gotta get 'em while I can! And I do enjoy hugs from Jason, as well. But even then we're more likely to kiss hello and goodbye than to hug.

This is a GOOD kind of hug!

What about you? Are you a hugger or an avoider? Why?