First Hug

Well, not really, but sort of.

When I came home last night Gary was sitting in the recliner and he smiled and held out an arm -- just enough so that if I didn't want to hug him, he could turn it into a stretch or something. I went to him, bent over and gave him a hug. He had one arm across my back and one just above me knees. That perhaps sounds a little creepy, but it didn't feel like that. Well, aside from the fact that he could have easily thrown me off balance. It felt more like he wanted to hang on to all of me, make sure I didn't leave until HE was done hugging.

I build up to hugging the kids slowly. I want them to feel in control of their physycial boundaries. I don't know when he started offering hugs, but he has been a pretty good hugger.

Although, come to think of it, he tends to rock when he hugs me, in a way that keeps me physically off balance, or at least in danger of being off balance. It is a slight exaggeration of the way anyone might put a little movement into a hug. It makes it silly, gives him more a sense of being in control which is all fine.

Stilll, last evening was the first time he indicated he wanted a hug first.