Hugs All Around

Yesterday was a scary day for a lot of people. On the way from a Songwriter's Conference in Muscle Shoals, Ala. a truck towing a trailer in front of us had a blow out. Thankfully, he kept his vehicle under control and was able to to drift it off the side of the road without incident. So, we were okay.

A few miles further my phone started blowing up with texts. My friend's son was involved in an accident. She sent pictures of the van. The passenger seat was completely crushed in and that's where her son was sitting. Amazingly, he walked away with only a bruised wrist. This beautiful young man just coming of age could have been gone in a second. She would have been left wondering what her last words were to him for the rest of her life. And did she tell him that she loved him?

After that, I received another series of pics where my friend and her husband narrowly missed an accident. A vehicle ahead of them had hit a bear. Unfortunate for the bear, but thankfully all the humans were okay.

Three narrow misses in one day? Absolutely crazy. A clear message emerged out of those for me. Hug everyone you love today. Tell them how you feel. Don't hold back. My ex-husband was a deputy and one day he checked me on this. He told me he didn't know if he was coming back after his shift and that we should exchange hugs and love every day. He worked wrecks, deaths, and other terrible incidents and accidents.

If we have someone nearby to hug we are lucky and we should take advantage. If not, reach out on the phone and virtually hug a loved one. These are the things in life we don't have to think on. We don't have to worry or second guess. The only regret we could possibly have is what we don't say or do.