...hug-onomics...

There are moments when I think I might be the most loved person on the planet...

My work days customarily consist of making music, playing instruments, dancing, laughing, and most importantly, hugging. I spend my mornings surrounded by 0 – 4 year olds and their caregivers, be it mom, dad, grandma or nanny. In a mere 45 minutes, we jump and spin and march and fly and jump and sing and dance and wiggle and jump and wave and crawl and play instruments and...did I say jump? (We do a lot of jumping. You can't even begin to imagine how thrilling it is for a young child to learn that he/she can defy gravity.)

It's a great way to begin any day.

I get to rejoice over first steps, singing in tune, keeping a beat, sharing an instrument, helping to clean up – priceless little moments that might be missed if I weren't pointing them out. Then, at the end of the class, during the goodbye song, I open my arms, and welcome any and all who long for a squeeze.

And today, it happened.

There was a mad rush for Ms. Sharon! A sort of stampede of living weeble wobbles! Twelve little bodies all walking, crawling, running, and jumping into my lap. It was utter chaos of the best kind! The pushing, the shoving, the dirty stare downs, the passive-aggressively blocking all others until you get hugged for the third time. It was wonderful!

And kids give the best kinds of hugs!

Unhindered by what is socially acceptable, they simply hold out their arms and fall into you, giving themselves over to your embrace. The kind where they lean into you so completely that you have to stand them back up on their feet. The kind where they squeeze you so tightly around the neck you might choke. The kind where they rest their head on your shoulder and sigh. The kind where you don't want to be the first to let go...and I didn't.

Though I regularly receive many hugs over the course of day, this sudden outburst from the entire class was an unexpected surprise. All day my thoughts have been swirling down a rabbit hole of how loved I am, how blessed I am.

Have you hugged today?

If not, do I need to come over? Hugs have been shown to aid in the healing of loneliness, sickness, depression, anxiety and stress. And the great thing about hugs, is that while you're giving one, you're also getting one! It's amazing! It's incredible! It's marvelous! It's hug-onomics!

Go get you some!

To help you on your quest for more hugs, check out this website on advanced hugging techniques! (Yep, it's an actual website...and it's awesome!)