On the 9th day of Christmas do you need a hug?

Rejoice - Punctuation - Reunion - Rest - Presence - Doing for Others - Music -
"Rejoice Punctuation, and Reunion with Rest, while sharing Presence in doing for Others and listening to Music"

"On the 9th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, the gift of sharing life with youuuuuuu."

I am very much aware that not everyone has someone to share with.  The way I see it, there are those who are either physically alone on this planet, those who are mentally alone on this planet, or spiritually alone.  To have vacancy in any of these areas, can really be defeating.  Sometimes that goes unnoticed.

Wow, that's a heavy start to day 9! Not my words, but mine to share.  Day 9 and I am waking up to a house full of family.  We have a day full of family time (with family and family of friends).  Tonight we will enjoy family.  Tomorrow I will enjoy family..and football..and family again. My family is large. You are my family too. Family is everywhere, and thank God for that.

This Christmas season, I have been most excited for this single week. Not for any one day, or person, or event, but for what will be a week of relaxing, enjoying all the prep work that has been done, and simply savoring time with family and friends.  You have NO idea when it will be your last visit with that eccentric aunt, or the over loud cousin who forgets he's inside, or the neighbor who just wont clean up that one thing on the yard, or the sibling who still resents the sweater you gifted last winter, or the parent who loves you so much they don't know when to stop checking on your grocery list.

Today, tomorrow, next Wednesday, could be the very last moment you have to share this life with that person.  What have you learned from them? What have they taught you about yourself? What have you SHARED with them?  Have you maintained a safe distance and strong walls around your heart so they do not have the chance to get close? Have you allowed your own vulnerability and flaws to be a topic of discussion?  Nooooo....why would we go that far??

Why would we go so far as to share life with someone to the point that you are not afraid to start the conversation with a hug, which leads to a responding squeeze, which leads to a feeling of hope, then joy, then conversation about the meal which leads to the discussion about plans that day, then memories about the past experiences and hopes for the future and fears that come with that,  then current struggles, current hopes, current joys, current feelings about life....why would we do that?

Why wouldn't we do that?  What good reason do you have to NOT share life with a certain person? We don't share with everyone the same way, but we can share elements of our world, with various people. If you aren't surrounded by that kind of family (again, blood, marriage, friend...all count), then you need new people, and I"ll be the first in line to give you that hug.

I share the joy of ...whats do we call this... sharing life with others