Sometimes, when I feel lonesome, not just alone, but actually lonesome, something special happens. This week:

The mailman stops for a minute to chat and hugs me.

The neighbor across the street stops and chats for a minute and reaches out, and hugs me.

A woman in the pool during class says, “I love you,” and hugs me.

A man in the herb store walks up ever so slowly and hugs me and tells me, “You love me, you thank me.”

I say, yes, to each of them. “I love you, thank you.”

I needed that. Real hugs. Not a side hug. Full on body hugs.  How did they know?