September 22, 2018, Prescott-
This is probably the latest I’ve been up, in many weeks. Yet, spending much of the day reading friends’ posts reminds me to get something of my own out.
I was not much for physical contact, when I was a child. Teenage brought a sense that girls were to be touched, but only if they themselves wanted. I was all over the place, in my twenties, but still rarely gave an unwanted hug- and backed way off when the person was resistant. Years of a good marriage largely erased the discomfort with physical contact that was so much a part of living with Asperger’s.
With Penny gone, my tendency has been more to hug, when a person seems to need or want a hug. That also comes naturally, working with children- and I have never adopted the “no contact” dictum that was the overreaction of the Politically Correct, to incidents of molestation. It was up to the child, whether a hug was in order, and up to me, the adult, to honour reasonable rules of decorum- above all, that physical contact be in the presence of other adults, and that I never be alone with a child, with the door closed.
This is pretty much how it is between adults as well. I have no significant other, yet have plenty of fine friends, of, as I have said several times, of all sorts. What I embrace, above all, is the notion of dignity and worth, to be given all whose paths I cross.
A Sagittarian Seeker 
I am much like you. I am a hugger to the people I am close with. I tend to back away when I get the no hug vibe.
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Sending big hug. As a child I hated contact. As did my son. We have found our way through. It’s fine to only hug those we want to. Hugging is a gift to bestow on those we want to embrace.
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Yes, indeed. One does not hug a cactus or thornbush, figuratively or literally.
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“Hugging: the truest form of giving and receiving.”
― Carol ‘CC’ Miller
My hugging patterns have changed and gotten better with age! 🙂
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That’s a great choice!
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I too only hug kids if they are open to it, otherwise given them room to get to know me. Otherwise I’m a hugger, I could hug trees too.🤗
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I feel the same way. A child should know that her/his body belongs to her/him alone.
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I was never very comfortable with touching as a child. As a mother there were days when I was “touched out” and really didn’t want any physical contact. As I’ve gotten older I’m more open to touching. Consider yourself hugged…As Leo Buscaglia said – Everyone needs at least one hug a day!
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You are generous with a hug, for a trusted soul. That is as it should be.
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