I will not reserve my hugs when this is over
I will race down the street hugging everyone
Every single neighbor I have never met
And those I have
There will be no reservations
I will be throwing my arms around dogs, cats, and the mail lady
They will understand, and will be hugging me back
There will be no masks or gloves
My grandchildren will screech into my driveway on two wheels.
I will be out there waiting; we will run toward each other
We will hug and scream and laugh and hug
We will celebrate three birthdays we have already missed
Hugging will be rampant
Out of control
The police may have to come
Because of all the screaming and yelling and hugging!
Is the above poem just a forgotten memory now that Covid-19 is no longer on the front pages? Did YOU and I learn anything from the pandemic that sustains us today? What did YOU learn that makes your life different today?
MANY PEOPLE TURN TO GOD WHEN LIFE HAS THEM DOWN, BUT FORGET TO KEEP IN TOUCH WITH GOD WHEN GOD TURNS IT ALL AROUND!
My Commentary:
During the long months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world experienced something many of us had never known before: the absence of touch. Handshakes disappeared. Hugs were postponed. Grandparents waved through windows and families spoke through screens. Something very human was taken from our daily lives.
These promises capture the deep longing people felt in those days. We promised ourselves that when the danger passed, we would never again take simple human closeness for granted. We would hug our neighbors — even the ones we had never met before. We would embrace the mail carrier, laugh with friends, and welcome family with arms wide open. What the pandemic revealed was something profound: human beings are made for connection. A hug is more than a gesture. It is reassurance. It says, You matter. You belong. You are not alone.
Perhaps the most beautiful image in this reflection is that moment when grandchildren come racing into the driveway and everyone runs toward each other. The laughter, the shouting, the hugs that seem to last forever — those moments remind us what life is really about. Not schedules, not accomplishments, but relationships.
In many ways, the pandemic taught us to cherish what had always been there: the ordinary miracle of being together. And maybe the promise we made then is still worth keeping today — to love more openly, to greet others warmly, and to never be stingy with kindness. Because sometimes the most powerful act in the world is simply to open your arms and embrace another person.
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