My daughter, Riley, snuggled with me on the couch this morning as we watched an episode of Phineas and Ferb and slowly woke up from a good nights sleep. It is a routine we have had for, well, all of her eight years on this earth. I actually have spent 16 years snuggling my kiddos through their morning wake up moments, from the time they were babies to the time when their legs hit the ground because they are just too tall to snuggle. But with Riley, she has always taken our snuggling much more seriously.
Each morning, she runs up to Mike or me for her first morning hug. Then she tag teams it to the other parent for a second morning hug. With each embrace, she soaks up our love, and allows it to seep into her heart. With each hug, though, I think we get more love than she does. It just is the best feeling in the world to be embraced with love in a hug.
Riley actually keeps track of her hugs. We have morning hugs, afternoon hugs after school, evening hugs, and, of course, bedtime hugs. She counts, tracks, and tallies all of the love we give her through those hugs. And with each hug, we get to soak her love in as well.
I have always been a touchy-feely person. I love hugging, and when I speak to people, I sometimes touch their arm or shoulder. When I meet someone for the first time in a social setting, I usually hug them. I realize the world is not filled with all huggable people, and some people probably feel uncomfortable with that much hugging. But I will never understand why.
It has been said that God gave us one mouth and two ears so that we listen twice as much as we speak. Maybe God gave us two arms so that we could hug each other. A hug can do a lot of good. A hug can make you feel loved. A hug can make you relax and let go of the stress in your life.
I have met some great huggers and some not-so-great huggers. On the not-so-great end, its just about like hugging an ironing board. But even ironing boards need to be loved, and they may need our hugs most of all. On the high end, I have met some pretty perfect huggers, people who make you feel like the most important person in the world through their embrace.
So my morning usually begins with five amazing morning hugs, and a little girl who tallies them up in her heart. We can learn a lot from our children if we only pay attention. And I know that I have learned how to hug from Riley. And even though the real world isnt a never ending summer vacation, it can still be filled with hugs.
So its up to us, the huggers, to spread the love. We can make a difference, one hug at a time, and it starts right at home. Start each day by hugging those you love the most and youll find that with each morning hug, you will soak up even more love than you dish out.
