The Human Touch...

I didn't think that this was very appropriate to shove in there with all that other crap from the last post, so this is its own cute little post.

Mom, my brother and I went to a dinner on Thursday night with some friends of our's. The husband is in the United States Military, and for awhile he was part of desert storm. He was telling me how everyone always asks whatIraq is like and what war is like and so on and so on. But this guy told us that the experience that had the most impact on him was the lack of physicality between people. This guy, like me, is a very touchy person, and I'm not really sure why no one else would ever touch each other. he said the only physical contact any of them ever had was handshakes. There was no hugs for comfort, nothing. just a simple quick handshake, and this wasn't even with the guys he was in the field every day with. This was just with strangers.

I get that guys are sometimes weird about huggging each other, but you would think, in times like that, where you have no one but you and the rest of the military boys, the human touch would be of utmost importance. And I don't mean fondling each other or being sexual. Just a quick hug is sometimes a really good thing, especially in hard times like what those men faced.

I too am a very touchy person. I think I would be even if I could see. A lot of people think that because I'm blind I'm obligated to be touchy, but it's not really that. I don't really understand it, I just have this need to hug people sometimes, and let them know in that small physical gesture that I care and respect them. I don't know if that makes much sense, but a hug is a really important thing. When we are babies, we learn a lot through the way our mothers touch us and are tender with us.

There was an experiment done with baby monkeys where there were two make shift mothers. One was made of metal. The other had cloth on it. It was warm and comfortable. And can you guess which one the babies liked more? The cloth mother, because it was warm. it was soft, and it was more physically pleasing than the metal mother.

And look at the kids who's mothers abandonned them and who were never hugged and cuddled as children. Often times, they're pretty miserable. So we can see that sometimes touch can be really important. And I am not planning on going up to my girlfriend and cuddling with her all the time, but a nice hug does the trick. It makes you feel comfortable and happy. And honestly, don't tell me you have ever hugged someone and went "Ewww don't touch me". OK maybe you have, but a hug is still a great thing.

So give someone a hug today. I will hhug my dad when he gets home. And if you're on the phone with someone and can't physically hug them, do what a certain friend of mine does and hug your phone because hey, it's the thought that counts.