In the south we tend to be huggers and kissers. I think I will be a bit more cautious. I am not sure though.
I am not talking about my husband or children but we hug everyone here. Not now with social distancing but I wonder if this will change the way people interact with each other.
I am thinking of Father Seelos. He lived here during the ‘yellow fever’ epidemic. Many people died from it, including Father Seelos. He continued to minister to the community and he caught the fever himself.
He was a remarkable man. If you visit New Orleans and want to know his story just visit St. Mary’s Assumption Church in New Orleans. Constance and Josephine Street.
It’s one of our most ornate churches in the city and is quite beautiful. It’s on Josephine Street. Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Shrine is there too.
If you google Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Shrine, New Orleans you can read his story. Yellow Fever was awful and killed many in our city.
Yes, it’s true. Some of us hug and some don’t. Neither is right or wrong. I don’t think any of us trust hugs at this time because none of us want to risk catching this virus or giving it anyone, if we by chance were a carrier. So, you make valid points.
Stay safe. Take care.
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Thanks for replying. What a great response! I have very similar feelings to you.
As you know, I lost my MIL to non Hodgkin’s lymphoma many years ago. You know how close I was to her. I’ve told you about my love and respect for her. You remind me so much of her. Your love, your compassion and your spirit is so much like my MIL was.
Did I ever tell you when and where she found her lump? She was on vacation, not feeling sick at all. In fact, she was the picture of health. She was in DisneyWorld, the happiest place on earth! She found it while showering after a fun day in Disney. How’s that for irony?
She was a fighter! She had a wonderful oncologist here who sent her for treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas. We could only see her behind glass because of being quarantined.
She did beat it. She was in remission for 5 years. She did everything in her power survive. Mid, I was already close to my MIL from the earliest days of dating my husband but when she became sick many years later, we grew even closer. I longed to hug her and she longed to receive our hugs.
She was extremely close to my oldest daughter. She died when my daughter was only five years old.
My youngest daughter was born many years after her death. I have kept her memory alive for my children to know how special she was. My youngest said she wishes she had known her. I told her that she would have loved her so much.
Anyway, the time came for my daughter to get her shots for school. She told me that she wouldn’t be able to be near her when she got her immunizations. I could see it was upsetting her terribly. She was dying.
I spoke to my child’s pediatrician who told me that we could put off the immunization as long as possible so my MIL could be near her. So, that’s what we did. I waited until the very last minute to get her shots so she could hug her grandma. I did not want to rob my MIL or my daughter of any hugs!
Hugs are important! They really are and her face would light up every time my daughter visited her. She was the best grandmother I could have ever dreamed of having for my child. She didn’t learn her maternal instincts from her mom. Her mom was a witch!
Seriously, my MIL’s mother was as mean as she could be but mom (yes, I called her mom) was a lovely woman who broke cycles and showed pure love. I will never forget her. Ever! I miss her. I was closer to her than I was to my own mom.
DH is working a jobsite so far from home I haven't seen him all week. He left late this am and I just stood and talked to him and made him hug me. I feel SO much better. Nobody wants to touch or show affection---and I am immunosuppressed, so people have been staying away from me in droves for almost a year.
Once this has passed, and it will---I think we will be skittish for a while, and then. b/c we're human and kind of stupid, we'll go back to being huggers and kissers. But maybe, just maybe, we'll wash our hands a lot more.