“I realized it was the first hug I’d had in six weeks. We didn’t know each other well, so it wasn’t the one I had been craving. I wanted it to be tight or enveloping or all-encompassing. But it came from a good place. With wet eyes and a loss like that, we all needed a hug.
I heard a term the other day that the Dutch developed during COVID – Huidhonger.
It translates to ‘skin hunger,’ referring to a longing for human contact while in isolation. My skin is hungry.
I want to hug my parents, my friends, my (potential) partners. I want to lounge in the park as the days warm up, sharing a bottle of wine and a picnic. I want to taste new foods in places far from home. I want to be packed on the streetcar without the fear of wondering if I will get sick. I want to dance someplace outside of my kitchen. We all have a lot of wants right now.
It has been three weeks since that night. I could use a hug.”
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