We All Need The Human Touch

When you really break it down, there are two kinds of people in this world; those who like physical touch and those who do not. And when those two people get together it is like when a cold front meets a warm front. Thunderstorm, here we come.
The physical-touch crowd is easily recognized. They are the ones who must put an arm around your shoulder or a hand on your hand when they speak to you. Words are not enough to convey what they mean. A simple squeeze of their hand lets you know they are trying to show how sincere they are. The funny thing about the physical-touch person is that he is totally unaware he is doing it.
PTers should not be confused with space-invaders. Space-invaders get as close to you as possible without actually making contact. You need reading glasses to look them in the eyes. PTerswill at least speak to you at arm’s length. Far enough away to not feel they are threatening, but close enough that they can touch you at the moment of deepest sincerity.
Those who prefer not to be touched are also easily identifiable. They are the ones who are in a full sprint in two strides when they see a PTer come near. You will find them standing (sitting makes them vulnerable) with their arms crossed soaking in all that is around them. This includes the nearest exits.
Non-PTers can sometimes seem unfriendly and non-inviting. That is usually not the case though. Non-PTers may not be touchy-feely type people, but when they love you, they love you for life. While everyone is a friend to the PTer, the non-PTer has fewer but deeper, more meaningful relationships.
By now you have already put yourself in one of these two categories. You have certainly tagged someone you know with one of the two labels. A good friend once told me that there is good touchy-feely, and there is bad touchy-feely (actually I think she used the word “creepy”). Being captain of my local PTer chapter, I worried about which category she put me in. Fortunately, she wasn’t running away when she said this. Perhaps because I was hugging her shoulder too tight.
Recently my father and brother and I went on a trip. For four straight days I went without holding a baby, hugging a friend, or tussling the hair of a toddler. Was it any wonder that my brother asked if he could have a room to himself the last night on the road? I missed my wife. I missed the babies I get to keep each week in the church nursery. And, although I thought this impossible, I missed my daughter even more.
So, if you see a non-PTer running through your hallway followed by a PTer, consider yourself warned. A thunderstorm is on the way.