20 Christmas Thoughts

It is Christmas. I am going to present to you a list of things. It may be related or it may not be. Either way, here it is:

1) My mother will always react to me as though I were 14. Regardless of my age or my action, everything I do is childish.
2) Coffee shops are the best places in the world. They serve as combination study house, social house, food house...they are wonderful and relaxing.
3) I do not feel that presents have any place in Christmas. I don't hate them, but I feel no real need to give or receive them.
4) I should not leave my home for extended periods.
5) It is not that difficult to drive on slick roads, as long as you are comfortable driving slightly sideways.
6) Married people are better at life.
7) Children are better at life. It is good to be quick to smile, quick to laugh, quick to forget.
8) Where I am usually easygoing, forgiving, and kind, my mother brings out my more childish and selfish nature. Perhaps due to item 1.
9) Eating is overrated.
10) I will continue to eat until I incapable of continuing.
11) I will always ignore 9 to do 10, and I will regret it every time. And I will learn nothing.
12) Blizzard has never done anything original. But that doesn't mean I don't love everything they have ever done. And I would never admit to spending hours reading their stories.
13) There is a wall in my life damning my progress. Surmounting this wall requires nothing more than will power, though it is required in copious amounts.
14) I do not do well when separated from the Boyce family.
15) Mass texts are neither festive nor appreciated. Gwen, you are classy enough to realize that. Thank you.
16) My sister has the most developed sense of humor of any person I have interacted with.
17) I have found a way to appreciate Christmas decorations through the fact that they bring others more joy than they bring me annoyance. Economically, they are a net gain.
18) Your inner quality has more influence on your appearance than your appearance has.
19) I love Patrick Stewart.
20) The kindness and generosity of Christmas should not be confined to December. Cheesy, derivative, cliché, true.

HUG

I would like to take this moment to discuss something we are all familiar with. Something you should be doing daily. Something that has been around since the first humans, and probably before. Something that is simpler than sneezing, but when done correctly, has the power to change the world. What could this be?? What in the world is he talking about?? I am talking about the hug. Yes, the hug. Here are my thoughts on this all powerful human expression.

I think that before we discuss the power of the hug, we should talk a bit about how one should properly hug. After all, if done incorrectly, a hug can be anything from awkward to creepy. A proper hug should take into account a number of factors:

1) Know who you are hugging

It is very important that you think about your hugee. If you are hugging someone who is uncomfortable touching people, you should not linger. For these people, a brief side hug may be more appropriate. Know your hugee, and act appropriately.

2) Know when to hug

There are times that it is okay to hug, and times it is not okay. For example, it is not appropriate to hug an old friend of the opposite sex if their significant other is present. Of course, there may be exceptions to this, but as a general rule, it is polite not to do so.

3) Know when to let go

There are different times to let go. I think we can all agree that, as a general rule, you should let go after a light squeeze. And then there are the people who prefer a bit longer hug. They don't really pose a problem, unless you are a short hugger. But, this segues nicely into part two of our discussion.

Now that we know how to hug, we should talk about why to hug. Hugs really aren't that complicated. You put your arms around someone, and they reciprocate. Usually. But what is it really, that you are doing? It isn't simply an encirclement of arms. That is, of itself, silly. I like to think of hugs as taking a big armful of happiness and squeezing it into both participants. To put it more clearly, hugs should be pure expressions of caring. And that is why all the above rules apply. You follow those rules because you care about the person. People can tell if you don't care. And then they just think you're weird.

Why would I take the time to discuss this? I don't know. I haven't bothered to figure that out. Suffice it to say that I have, and here it is.