Human Touch

Have you ever heard of Cuddle Parties? When I first heard about these things, I thought people were crazy. My friends and I laughed and thought the whole things was kind of creepy. Frankly, I still think the idea is kind of creepy.

But part of me can totally identify with why people would want to go to one of these things. I grew up in a very affectionate family. We're huggers. And my college friends, post-college friends, swing dancing friends...they're mostly huggers too. I love hugs. They are great.

And suddenly I find myself in a new city where I don't really know anyone and I hardly ever get hugged. It's rough! There's only one person in my life here who hugs me, so if I'm lucky I get about two hugs a week. In my previous life, even when I wasn't getting hugs all the time, I was going dancing two or three times a week, so I got some kind of physical human contact on a regular basis.

Someone told me once that people need 19 hugs a day to stay sane. I don't know if that's true, but I am definitely feeling the lack of human contact. The only other time I remember going through this was when I first went to college. I didn't know anyone at my new school, and after a couple of weeks I realized I hadn't hugged anyone since my parents left. Of course then I just asked my room mate for a hug and that made things better.

But now as an adult it seems really awkward to just ask someone to hug me. So I can see why people would be interested in these cuddle party things. I'm not saying that I'm going to sign up for one. I still think it's strange to manufacture something like that, and I also just have to believe that there are creepy people there for the wrong reasons. I'll just make sure to stock up on extra hugs when I see friends in other cities. And maybe I'll try to go out dancing once in a while. And surely soon I will have friends here who I'll be comfortable hugging.

Does this post suddenly make me sound like a crazy person? 'Cause I'm not really, I swear. I just need a hug!