I took a mental health day and went on a hike. I saw a tree that looked like the perfect size to hug and walked right up to for an embrace it without thinking much about it. Memories of looking at trees to hug came flooding back from the pandemic. Why don’t we talk about those times more? Is it just me who still is looping through memories and processing that strange time? I finally feel I’m in a state to reflect and even that’s a privilege.
Hugging the tree felt so empty and it shocked me a bit. How did I survive on this? How did I convince myself that this one way tree hug was in any way a fill in for an actual hug? By the time I hugged trees, I must have forgotten what it feels like to have another’s arms around you, each person offering their own unique hug. Some rocking me side to side laughing, nearly picking me up. Some quick and quiet. Some slow and warm, the kind I can collapse into. I hope I don’t have reason to forget again.
agm 
One response to “forget again”
There is something so important here, the whole idea of human to human contact. The electric, messy, organic feel of a pile of puppies type hug. Take care, my friend.