Saturday, July 9, 2011

Free Hugs

I woke up crabby this morning.  Really really crabby.  Don't-talk-to-me-because-I-don't-have-anything-nice-to-say crabby.   It was not a huge surprise, because I had gone to bed crabby.  

Coffee will help.

No coffee.

Well of course there's not.  Just fucking fantastic.

So I got dressed - which is not something I especially like to do on a Saturday morning - and headed to our little local coffee shop.

I am having a fantastic hair day and the sun is shining - a combination of factors which is usually enough to guarantee a good day, or at least a good morning - but even those two events weren't enough to cut through the denseness of my crabby mood.

I walked in among the runners beginning to congregate for their post-run coffee.  Fuck you, Mr. Runner-Man in your stupid running shorts and your stupid running shoes drinking your stupid power smoothie or whatever the fuck.  I'm too crabby to feel guilty about my sedentary lifestyle today.

I got in line behind a woman and in just a moment two of her friends walked in the door.  They greeted each other enthusiastically and they both hugged her in a way that made it clear that they were NOT trying to usurp my place in the line - they just wanted to greet their friend. The three of them were so happy - to see each other, to share their coffee, to enjoy the sunshine.  I wanted to be happy, too, but I was too darn crabby.  It was at this point that one of them, the one directly behind me in line, addressed me, "I'm sorry!  You must feel left out!" and quick as that, her arms were around me and I was being hugged.  By a total stranger.  In the coffee shop.  Because her joy this morning was as strong or stronger than my negativity.  Before I had a chance to recover, her friend hugged me, too.

I'm not the best writer in the world, so you may think that sounds creepy - I did, as I read over it - but it really wasn't.  It was spontaneous and sweet and I smiled from ear to ear as a torrent of good feelings washed away my crabby - at least for a moment or two.

When I got home, I was informed that we were out of creamer.  Well that's just fu...

That's cool.  Skim milk will do just fine.

Hugs.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Sometimes a hug from a stranger can be a huge lift!

Unknown said...

Hugs from joyful strangers and kids are just the best kind to get.. a mood lifter every time

Lesley said...

I don't think it sounded creepy at all....sounds like it was a good thing you were out of coffee....and I think you are a fantastic writer...just throwing it out there :-)

Joanna Jenkins said...

I love that!!!! So glad you got your happy on at the coffee shop Tammy. This is a terrific story that made me smile.

Here's to more hugs from strangers in coffee shops :-)

xo jj

Cheryl said...

I didn't find this one bit creepy. As a spontaneous hugger when I'm flying high on happiness, I could have been one of those women. Not last Saturday, but last Friday? Oh yeah.

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

I love this! I could totally feel your crabby day because I've been there (far too often). And as I read about the hugging, a little smile started at one corner of my mouth and spread across my face.

Rosa said...

That's not creepy! That's awesome! I love it.