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The thing about a hug is how it can show up at the most unexpected time…

in the most unexpected place and yet…

when it does…chances are that unexpected hug is one you never will forget.

We sell socks in our bookstore (on a display stand we installed),

Colorful book-related socks that come in sizes large and small.

But the sizes are written in the tiniest hard to read font

so we make sure the customer checks…to get the exact size socks they want.

An older lady came up to the counter to buy two pair of socks…

immediately I saw the confusion in her eyes…

When I said, “Make sure when it comes to those socks…that you have checked the size.”

Her confusion wasn’t with the socks…it was with me instead…

When she asked “Qué?” And I realized she did not understand a single word I said. 

She entered with her family but they spread out leaving her alone…

which meant, when it came to helping her, I was on my own.

So with Google translator on my phone I walk around the counter

(wondering how I was going to handle this at all)

then showed her one of the pair of socks was grande (large)

while the other one was pequeña (small)

Now, fully committed, I entered the next part of my plan…

I showed her which sizes were for a mujer (woman) and which size was for an hombre (man)

She looked at me…nodded her head…her smile was undaunted…

as she went back to make sure she was buying the size and socks she wanted.

After ringing her up…I showed her the price…she took money out of her wallet

and as we counted it together I knew this would be rough…

because I could see her wallet was empty…and she didn’t have enough.

But once again Google translator made something easy out of something hard…

When it said in its best Spanish (and I repeated in my worst),

Tienes una tarjeta de crédito? (Do you have a credit card?)

After she nodded held up her card, smiled, then payed her bill 

she motioned for me to come around the counter…to join her on the rug…

When I did she put her arms around me and gave me a big hug!

A wonderful hug that came at an unexpected time in an unexpected place and yet

It is one hug I know…I will never forget.

Today I’m grateful for the ability to take a moment

every once in a while…

to remember the joy there is in a hug…

and the beauty in a smile.

 Some days I wish I had eight arms

that I could wrap around you…

those days when two arms don’t seem to be enough

when only an octopus hug will do

When someone we love is hurting

may we be blessed…not always with words to intercede…

but to realize sometimes…in that moment

a hug is all they need.

What is it about a hug?  Have you ever wondered why

we use this little squeeze of affection 

when we greet our friends and family…

and…when we say goodbye?

The hug is universal…it can be found everywhere…from Albania to Zaire.

It’s a gentle and tender way to show our friends an family we care. 

The funny thing about a hug, however, is…

In order for this affection to be shown…

it’s simple physics really…one cannot hug alone.

To feel its power…its magic

with a person or an animal a hug has be paired…

Yes, the only way a hug can work…is when that hug is shared.

A hug can show our love, can calm us, can help to ease our fears.

A hug can bring a smile to our face or stem the flow of tears….

Lovers hug, parents hug and what child does not love to squeeze…

While walking in the forest I’ve even see people hugging trees!

A hug is a way to communicate without words…

and before a hug is done…

for a moment…in the midst of a hug…two people become one.

I wonder…if knowing the grace and beauty of a hug

understanding its magic and its charms…

is the primary reason our creators

gifted us with arms.