Free Hug

I had spent the previous weekend banking hugs from all my people in Denver.  I might just pause here for a moment to try and count all the people I hugged and then multiply that for hellos and goodbyes.  So wonderful.  Monday the rains arrived in the Bay (and would stay all week).  Work can be a quiet place for me as many of my co-workers are remote.  And I don't have a nice kitty or dog to come home to.  My violet has been giving me the cold shoulder lately.

I was enjoying the rainy day.  It was a chance to wear my fun, splashy, kiddo feeling rain boots.  But, there was a lingering pang of the space left from being 1/3 of the country away from the laughter and affection of CO.

Right outside the downtown BART station, I noticed a young woman who looked clean and quite normal at first glance.  She was lovely.  Standing just under the overhang of a bank on the corner of a big intersection where groups of people stop at to wait for the light about a block from the train station.  She wasn't grinning or even necessarily inviting.  She had the expression of waiting in a state of availability.

She was holding a cardboard sign that said "Free Hug."  I stopped to wait for the light but was intrigued by this humanity offering.  I mean isn't that kind of what a hug is?  An expression of caring that recognizes the value of another person and their very humanity.  I turned to look at her.  She didn't say anything.  Pause.  I said, "Won't we get all wet?"  She dropped her sign to reveal a very dry jacket underneath.  "But, I'm dry," she replied.  "Oh, okay."

She was a good hugger.  She reached out her arms slowly and closed them around me in the same manner.  It wasn't a "hello" or a "goodbye" hug.  It wasn't a "I haven't seen you in a long time" hug or a "wave just won't do" or an upgrade from a handshake.  It was an "I'm so excited to see you" hug.  It was a hug that savored the humanity of another.  A hug for the sake of engaging in another person.

"Thank you," I said.  "Have a great evening."  As I walked away I heard another girl cry out, "I want a free hug!"  I could feel the hug all the way home as I walked through the rain.