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A Hug a Day Keeps the Blues Away

Habit #26 in my 30-day journey

Mary DeVries
2 min readApr 26, 2021
Photo by Mélody P on Unsplash

“I embrace people (with my arms) mainly to remind myself that I ought to embrace them (with my mind).”
Mokokoma Mokhonoana

I am not a super huggy person. I long to hug my mom and my children who are currently an ocean away from me. I wish I could hug my bereaved sister-in-law and niece since my brother can no longer hug them. But I’m happy to do without the hugging of acquaintances.

It’s the awkwardness of deciding that gets me most. Is this a hugging level of relationship or not? Covid made the answer easy. Are you in a bubble with this person?

Now that I’m vaccinated the question opens up a little bit more. Not that I’m about to go around indiscriminately but when I see my mom next month we will be hugging each other and I can’t wait.

Adding hugging in as a habit right now really comes down to the two people I live with. Since my daughter hates hugs, the burden will fall on my husband who won’t complain although he is even less of a natural hugger than I am.

The quote from Mokokoma Mohonoana is perfect for this habit. I hug those dearest to me to remind myself of how much I love them. I hug them because I can still wrap my arms around them and I’m reminded that life and relationships are precious and not guaranteed to last forever.

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Mary DeVries
Mary DeVries

Written by Mary DeVries

I delight, despair and write about a life lived around the world. Fueled by Yorkshire Gold tea.

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