Howdy, 

When the Lermz began this blog, he asked me if I would like to be a guest writer.  I was excited and couldn’t wait to write.  However, I felt that I needed to make an entrance that counted, so that I would not detract from the work that he put into his motivating entries.  

Here I am a few months later, finally starting…

I work in a shop on The Strand, the historic district of Galveston.  The old buildings are now homes to shops and cafes tailored to tourists and cruisers.  Business so far this summer has been fairly slow, and while that has made for boring work days, it has also provided an opportunity to get to know some of the people who come into our shop. 

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet Julia and her family.  Like all of the 7 year olds that come into the shop, Julia was enamoured by our aquarium.  I caught her eye, smiled and said hello.  She gave me a huge grin and held out her arms.  Her older sister looked at me and said she wanted a hug.  Now I am a hugger, yet, it is rare that I hug those I don’t know.  But I walked over to Julia, who was confined by her wheelchair, and gave her a hug.  She didn’t have much strength but she wrapped both of her arms around my left arm and smiled. 

This really impacted me.  Children have always impressed me by the way they see the world.  But Julia went beyond that.  Even though she was special needs and could not walk or talk, she wanted to show how much she loved the world and others. 

Imagine if on a normal basis we were all just willing to hug a stranger and bring them into our lives instead of judging and acting guarded around them.  I feel like things would be better all around.  I want to challenge myself, and you, to do that more.  We are there for our friends with open arms when they need us, but what about other people?  Embrace life, embrace love, embrace the world.

 

Arielle