hugs

i have a theory about hugs. a hug is a like a handshake. you get to know somebody's personality very quickly via a hug or a handshake but perhaps more so with a hug because handshakes are pretty much always the same but a hug gives you a lot more information about a person's current mental state. for instance, I hugged a student today. let's just call her...student. and I never would have pictured somebody like her to hug the way she did but she did. it was a long, sustained hug. a hug that a mom would give a daughter or maybe even a grandmother give a granddaughter. it was a steady hug. a strong hug. a hug that said, 'I am here. you can rest awhile. it's all going to be fine.' it wasn't a loud hug - not that those are bad. and it wasn't a quiet hug - not that those are bad either. it was just steady, sure of itself, and there. and for a moment, I thought, wow! I never knew she had it in her. I never knew she was that strong. sometimes you never know about people, until you give/get a hug.