Thursday, August 21, 2008

The Value of a Hug

I am a hugger. I love to hug. And on more than one occasion, I have offended a person with a well meant embrace. I was once the person who did not enjoy my personal space invaded. I felt almost violated, very uncomfortable and in short put out. Yet, if I were truly honest with myself all of those years ago, there was that tiny part within me that was warmed. It was secretly saying thank you and it ignited a glow within me.

Hugs can do that to people. Hugs can instill confidence in a person on a bad day, it can quicken the step to a hop and more often than not, it can bring forth a smile, even if only a little one. For me, like my good friend Goofball, we were inundated with hugs at a very special camp put on by Rotary International called RYLA. And, whether you liked it or not, you were hugged to show that you were cared for, to show that people believed in you and to bring you into the fold of happiness. From that first camp that I had ever attended in 1990, it changed my life for the better. And since then, I officially became a certified Hugger, if only in my mind.

Believe me when I say, having this special talent, could have gotten me in potential problems given that my employment background is in Human Resources. As many of you know, being in HR means that you must be aware and practice those oh so many rules and standards brought forth to protect people. And there were times that I likely would have broken one of the golden rules sheerly due to my compassionate nature. My viewpoint was always use common sense and sometimes that dictated giving an employee a hug to instill confidence that everything was going to be already. Hugs were also given as congratulations and good job.

So now my friends, it is my turn to send five lucky people a virtual hug. My good friend Goofball gave this award to me and in turn I will keep up with positive, loving vibes and send it off to five others.



Giving only five is a little difficult as I would like to send one out to everyone, so I will settle with sending five to people that I hope to meet in my lifetime someday but live a little too far away at this point to make that happen.

In no particular order:

1. Stephanie - Adventures in Babywearing. Yes, Stephanie gets many awards, memes and such and it is well deserved. I would however like to thank you so much Steph for your blog. You were the first Mommy blog that I stumbled upon three years ago while searching out baby carrier options. Your blog, thoughts, honesty and support over the years have been inspiring. It has allowed me to overcome that insecurity that Motherhood can bring along by knowing that there are other Mothers out there that have the same feelings.

2. Sheryl - Peanut Butter and Jelly Boats. I met you through Steph's blog site and it is amazing at how much I talk about you as a true friend. I look forward to reading what is going on in your life on a daily basis and love your outlook on life. Your thoughts and honesty on your blog have made me think about a lot of things that I may have put on the back burner. You have a wonderful family and I hope that we will be able to meet one day in the near future.

3. Amber - Crazy Bloggin Canuck. Like with many of Amber's readers, she has the ability to make me laugh as she pokes fun at herself and her family as they grow in life. I feel a connection with Amber (like I am sure many others do) and know that should our children ever get together, the world would never be the same again. Amber, your humour and ability to laugh in the face of trying times matches mine so much, yet you have this amazing ability to share it with others in your writing.

4. Ashley's Mom - Piper Cleaner Dreams. Ashley's Mom is an incredible, inspirational woman. A true woman who provides the voice for special needs individuals. She shows you that individuals who have special needs are just like us and we as a society should recognize that. She has an incredibly beautiful, special family and captures that beauty and shares it with the world. I would be incredibly honoured to meet Ashley and Ashley's Mom one day and my biggest wish is that it will happen.

5. Beth - I Should Be Folding Laundry. Aside from providing me with this fabulous look on my site, Beth owns a piece of my heart. While not in the same circumstance, I can understand some of the feelings that Beth is living with on a daily basis right now with the loss of her twins. I admire Beth immensley for having the ability to voice her despair, confusion and fears. During my times of grief and loss of my babies through miscarriage, I felt alone. Completely utterly alone as every time I tried to voice my thoughts, they either didn't come out right or I felt that I wasn't supported. So Beth, if you are reading this, you need this hug and I wish that I were there in person to wrap you in a warm embrace and give you that support.

7 comments:

Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...

Oh, you are so sweet and it's so funny because I have been working on a very specific post about hugs. Seriously!

Steph

Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry said...

I love hugs. But like you, at a certain point in my life, they made me uncomfortable. But now? I could hug all day long. Well, almost all day.

Allie, thank you so much for this, so, so much. Your words, your support, your e-mails have meant and will always mean the world to me. People like you help me get through each day, minute by minute, hour by hour. Thank you for everything, thank you for caring, thank you for the hugs. I feel them, I truly do.

You, too, hold a special place in my heart.

Unknown said...

Sniff. Ahhh, you're too sweet. And now you've done gone and moved away from Calgary so I'll never get the real hug!!!!!

Goofball said...

huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuug

Anonymous said...

I miss your hugs!

Andrea said...

Let me tell you...I love hugs as well - they are so precious!

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness. you are so sweet! I feel the same way about you!
Someday we will meet in person and give each other a big ol hug!
Sorry it took me so long to respond. I've been MIA with my computer lately.