Embrace

Millions and millions of years would still not give me half enough time to describe that tiny instant of all eternity when you put your arms around me and I put my arms around you.  ~Jacques Prévert

There is something utterly magical about a hug.

Really, the above statement reads so trite to me compared to the depth of emotion that is packed into those words...

...it almost seems a shame to even write those words. 

I feel as though I am doing every hug in the world a mighty disservice. 

There is something remarkable that happens when one person puts their arms around another. 

It is inexplicable...

...and it's one of my favorite things in the world. 

Whether it's a loving touch from your mother after you've had one of the worst days of your life, and all you want is comfort...

... a soft caress from someone you deeply care about, and who you know cares about you more than anything else, and can feel when your heart is about to shatter into a million pieces...

...an affection-laden bear hug from a guy who's been as close as a brother since high school...

...or a still-awaited embrace from your sister who's only been in Germany for a month and still has another 2 months to go before she comes back home. 

Every last one of these touches has power in them.

The power to comfort.

To reassure.

To demonstrate the utmost of tender love and affection...

...sometimes more than words can say. 

If you're angry at a loved one, hug that person.  And mean it.  You may not want to hug - which is all the more reason to do so.  It's hard to stay angry when someone shows they love you, and that's precisely what happens when we hug each other.  ~Walter Anderson

Gentleman

A gentleman has his eyes on all those present; he is tender toward the bashful, gentle toward the distant, and merciful toward the absent. ~Lawrence G. Lovasik

Where have all the gentlemen gone?

What island have they been exiled to...and can someone send me the coordinates so that I might go and bring them home again?

Someone told them that they were no longer needed in this world...that their age had come and gone.

Someone told them that women were strong and independent -- that we didn't need men to care of us anymore...

...that we could open our own doors, and that a man coming to our defense was nothing more than offensive and sexist.

Someone said that chivalry was dead.

Well, let me tell you this.

They were wrong.

Whoever told Mr. Darcy to dismount his horse...whoever told Prince Charming to toss his crown in the mud...whoever told Orlando to burn his sonnets?

So please, gentlemen, come back to us.

Because there are still ladies in the world...

And we miss you.

We love when you open the door for us, or help us when we drop things, and we will thank you.

We love when you hold out your hand to help us up off the ground after a moment where our grace has fled, and we have stumbled over our own feet.

We love when you treat us with respect instead of just a pair of breasts...just as something to stare at and undress in your mind.

We love when you hug us, tell us we look beautiful, and look us in the eyes when you talk to us.

We love being treated as beloved sisters instead of sex objects and toys to show off.

So, please, come back.

And to those of you who haven't changed -- to those men who love me, respect me, and treat me as precious: I love you, and I am HONORED to call you my friends and brothers.

You are seen.

You are thanked.

And you are loved.

A man may learn from his Bible to be a more thorough gentleman than if he had been brought up in all the drawing-rooms in London. ~Charles Kingsley