Why Hug When You Can Just Shake Hands?

Yesterday morning while sitting in church, a lady came up to me and asked me my name. Normal enough. Next she asked me if we had been coming there long. Still kind of normal. Finally she wanted to know the exact number of times we had been there. Getting kinda weird.

Then she hugged me.
As in pull-you-in-close, arms-wrapped-around-the-neck type of hug.
Definitely at that awkward stage.

Have I mentioned I'm not a huggy kind of person?

Yep, I've had well over twenty-four hours to think about this and well... I'm still thinking about it. I have therefore determined that in my world, there are three kinds of hugs (hey, I always said I think too much).

1. The Honey, I'm Home Hug: These are the hugs my husband gives me when he comes home from work. I'm typically in the kitchen or sometimes I'll meet him out on the front porch. Hugs like these make me feel warm and fuzzy and give me peace.
2. The Goodbye Hug: These hugs always make me cry and I have a hard time letting go. One of these hugs was shared with my grandma on a September morning the day we moved. Now they are all reserved for my mom and dad and happen twice a year.
3. The Awkward  Stranger Hug: These kinds are generally found inside a church during the welcome song or at family reunions with people you have honestly never met. I am not a fan of these and always feel like my personal space has been violated.

Maybe that's the problem right there. I like my personal space.

And I know this is gonna sound corny, but well... have I mentioned that I'm a little obsessed with dictionaries? Particularly old dictionaries. I like to know what words meant before we added ain't to the English language according to the modern day Webster.

So here is the definition of hug from my 1892 Webster's High School Dictionary: To embrace closely; to hold fast; to keep close to.

I know, I know. I'm putting too much time into this. It's just after that moment in church yesterday, I was left thinking what's wrong with me? Are other people comfortable giving and/or receiving hugs from people they don't know? That woman certainly was. Does she have more of Jesus than I do?

(Understand I'm just rambling here because I really don't think that Jesus part. He loves me whether I'm a huggy person or not).

To me, a hug is personal. I want to at least share a cup of coffee with you before I wrap my arms around your neck and even then, well, let's just say that better have been one good cup of coffee. If I'm perfectly honest, I prefer a good old-fashioned handshake.

I just gotta figure out a way to tell that lady this before she comes after me next Sunday.