The Gift of a Hug

It was “one of those days.”

They come in various shapes and sizes, but usually unexpected. The day started off pretty normal.

Typical routine.
Nothing special.
Nothing extra-ordinary.
Normal.

Somewhere in the midst of laundry and email and dishes, the bottom fell out of her day. Don’t ask why, it just did.

Perhaps the billowing storm clouds, rapidly dropping temperature, and sudden onslaught of rain precipitated it. But probably not.

Suddenly, without warning, she was in a funk, sliding quickly toward tears. For no reason. Her emotional eating habit screamed loudly to be fed.

Fatigue settled over her like a thick cloud, a perfect match for the grayness visible through the sliding door window. Great. Now she noticed the nose and hand prints that needed to be cleaned off the glass.

As she surveyed the great room, the piles of laundry to be washed, dried, and folded, and the dirty dishes in the sink, she sank into a chair.

“I don’t want to do any of it,” she glumly thought. “What’s wrong with me? Why am I suddenly so tired?”

The ticking of the clock even seemed sluggish. Weird.

After slogging through the rest of her inbox, she closed the computer. “Maybe I’ll grab that library book and finish it since it’s due in a couple of days.”

Picking up the book, she sat down on the couch to read. She woke when the book landed on the floor.

THUNK!

Feeling slightly less fatigued, she glanced at the clock, surprised to realize she’d slept for almost an hour! Yikes! That wasn’t on her “to do” list for today.

Getting up, she made a cup of tea, hoping to stave off the chill she felt throughout her entire being.

While the tea was brewing, she began to gather the ingredients to make supper, though she wasn’t remotely hungry. Nothing sounded good. Strange. Food always sounded good to her, but not right now.

Completing her supper preparations, she pushed the program button on the slow cooker, and took a sip of her tea. Comforting warmth.

The phone rang. She recognized her husband’s number and answered with as much cheer as she could muster.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I don’t really know. I’m just in a funk,” she replied. “I think all I really need is a good hug. I just feel off today.”

“I’ll be happy to give you a hug when I get home,” he said, his smile audible. “I’ve got plenty of those just for you.”

She felt his love reach through the phone gently caressing her heart.

“I’ll be waiting for them,” she replied with her first smile since this morning.

A few hours later, she found herself enveloped in her husband’s warm arms. With a contented sigh, she leaned into his strength realizing this was exactly what she needed.