Shelly’s Blog
I have mentioned often in class my son Travis. Working with the Armadillo Project, I find myself wondering what he would have thought of all of this crazy virus stuff.
I knew instantly. Travis would have been one of the first ones. Really, the first one. He would have grabbed the most outrageous gas mask/respirator and put it on. He would have made a Free Hug sign. It would have been much larger and brighter than the one in the picture. It would be neon and flashing, if possible. He would have walked out the door and hugged "EVERYONE". I refer to him as my Hippie Hugger. He always found someone he felt needed a hug. I would have just shook my head. He would look at me and say "What? Oh, does someone need a hug?" Then proceed to give me a rib crushing hug.
Our world is made up of lots of different people. Seemingly even more divided now. A pandemic seems to create the best, the worst and those who are in-between what is best.
“I am Not a hugger”
I am not a hugger. The thought of hugging someone outside of my immediate family is distressing. So when social distancing became a thing, I was not too disappointed. The time is now where I could be socially accepted to not be a hugger. I could confidently go out into the world and know i could refuse to share my personal space with a random hugger.
I am not anti social. I do enjoy people. I like to smile and say hello to strangers. I enjoy starting a conversation with a person in line next to me. I like to shake hands. Hand shakes are a great way to find out about a person. Hugging is just a bit more information about someone I just do not need.
I hope the hand shake does not go away forever. I believe contact of some sort is beneficial in many ways. In small gestures, such as a handshake or a pat on the back. I know if my son Travis was still physically here, the hug would not cease, at least in his corner of the world.
Regardless if you are a hugger or a hand shaker, social or anti. . .Remember Today, Make Here Matter.