Just Need a Hug Sometimes
Ping called me back to her "office" this morning after I visited with her about something. The reception area, which is quite large and nice, is supposed to be her office, but she has also taken over the Houston Suite, as it is named, which is near the reception area. She put her arms around me, put her head on my chest, and hugged me tight. That is all she wanted; just a hug.
A lot has changed since Ping and Cici arrived in America. When they first arrived, a hug was completely foreign to them. The cultural change has come slowly, but it has come. Today it finally reached the point where Ping was affirmatively seeking a hug, for no apparent reason other than just wanting a hug. Many other things have changed as well as the girls have become more Westernized.
Yesterday while I was at the office, the girls took down the outdoor Christmas lights, but the tree won't come down until after Spring Festival, Ping told me. Spring Festival is the celebration of the Chinese New Year, which is in January most years, but it begins on Valentine's day this year. I can see another merging of cultures with this decision that Ping has made.
It doesn't feel anything like January today. The sun is out bright and strong, so it is a very enjoyable day. It is nothing like our last January in China, when we endured their coldest winter in 50 years. With the first day of the year falling on Friday, it feels like it is mid month already now that we are back in the office.
A lot has changed since Ping and Cici arrived in America. When they first arrived, a hug was completely foreign to them. The cultural change has come slowly, but it has come. Today it finally reached the point where Ping was affirmatively seeking a hug, for no apparent reason other than just wanting a hug. Many other things have changed as well as the girls have become more Westernized.
Yesterday while I was at the office, the girls took down the outdoor Christmas lights, but the tree won't come down until after Spring Festival, Ping told me. Spring Festival is the celebration of the Chinese New Year, which is in January most years, but it begins on Valentine's day this year. I can see another merging of cultures with this decision that Ping has made.
It doesn't feel anything like January today. The sun is out bright and strong, so it is a very enjoyable day. It is nothing like our last January in China, when we endured their coldest winter in 50 years. With the first day of the year falling on Friday, it feels like it is mid month already now that we are back in the office.
A hug delights and warms and charms..hugs are free as long as you ask for it…hugs help the environment in more ways than one… It is also a form of communication, and in your case a hug can break the language barrier… It can say things you don't have words for… a hug can say, "I love you so," Hugging is good medicine. It transfers energy, and gives the person hugged an emotional boost… The nicest thing about a hug is that you usually can't give one without getting one. Hugging does not upset the environment.. It saves heat and energy... requires no special equipment, no network or computers. So next time you feel down or out of energy…either give or receive a hug and see what happens next – smiles and kisses are free too!
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Now that is downright poetic, Andrew. Maybe we need to post it in our offices.
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Coming from a country where hugs are rare I've been teaching this to my wife for 10 years. Now with our son Alexaander, I try to emphasize the importance how emotionally the health the benefits can be from just a single hug....like smiles, the are free!
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Lee...speaking of food, I thought this article would be of interest to you. Further support that you are on the right track with your eating!!
Beans
If you're not a legume lover, consider this: In the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, scientists found that people who consumed beans were 23 percent less likely to have large waists than those who said they never ate them. The bean eaters in the survey also tended to have lower systolic blood-pressure measurements, says research Victor Fulgoni III, Ph.D. Legumes are rich in belly-filling fiber as well as potassium, which helps fight hypertension. Aim for half a cup of cooked beans 3 or 4 days a week.
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I guess I am meeting those recommendations in spades -- I mean beans. Seven days a week, usually for breakfast, always with brown rice, I eat a mixture of many kinds of beans. Costco only sells two kinds of dried beans, one in 25 pound bags and one in 20 pound bags. We buy both, and then buy smaller packages of beans in other stores to mix with the beans from Costco.
It's a good thing I am a bean lover.
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