It sounded nonsensical when I heard it. It was different, but it was heartwarming and full of care. And it was real. It was a written permission to hug a loved one on what appeared to be a 4 by 4 slip of paper.
Sounds strange? Who needs permission to do something that comes so naturally?
It’s not so strange in the house and land that COVID-19 built and ravaged. Not so unusual for those sentinels who mask and social distance themselves from loved ones at all costs.
To them, the burden and responsibility of keeping everyone from contracting coronavirus aren’t taken lightly. They walk the line, stand up for the science, and shelter in place according to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) guidelines.
They are enlisted soldiers fighting the war against a virus that wants to kill us and our loved ones. I signed up early, wearing a mask, washing my hands, and social distancing. I couldn’t stomach being drafted by a guilty conscience after the sickness or death of a family member or friend.
I volunteered to fight!
It’s been a year of waving, blowing kisses six feet away, face-timing, and other social distancing interactions. I want a hug, you want a hug-all God’s children need and want a hug. Mothers want to pinch cheeks and hold their children and grandchildren.
As with millions of others, it’s been a year since I’ve embraced my daughter and grandchildren.
I was pulled in as I watched a grandmother tell a CNN news anchor that her doctor wrote a prescription for her to hug her granddaughter. It was a prescription to touch, pull close, squish, and love on someone so dear and precious.
After being fully vaccinated against the virus, the grandmother’s guardedness was as measured as before getting the shots.
‘YOU CAN’T BE TOO CAREFUL.’ Lives are at stake!
Just in case the grandmother didn’t know, to make certain she did know, her doctor’s prescription left no doubt.
The doctor knew she would need hugging orders. When operating in the abnormal for so long, an okay to return to what is normal is appreciated.
It was a prescription for the health of a mother/grandmother’s heart. The written prescription was the medicine she wanted so badly.
I applaud the doctor for such a great bedside manner to prescribe a physical and spiritual treatment. This is what I call holistic medicine.
The joyful hugs went viral on social media.
My ‘OH HAPPY DAY’ of hugging my children, grands, and family is forthcoming. My permission slip will be based on the CDC’s guidelines, two weeks after being fully vaccinated.
Yes, it’s all about the hugs and love.
Victory in this war will make the sheltering, quarantining, mask wearing, and other battle tactics so worth it.
An unknown author said, “Hugs are the universal medicine.”
Hugs are worth the masks and wait!
Get your prescription. I plan to get mine.
Be safe.