Hug-O-War

Another Stuart tradition we started several years ago, is family hugs after family scripture reading/prayer. Everyone gives everyone else in the family a hug and says goodnight. (I even kiss them and tell them I love them, but I don't force them to do this for each other...that just might send them over the edge.) We felt we needed to implement this for a couple of reasons. One, as kids get older, you may think you'll still show them affection on a daily basis...but then you realize the opportunities are harder to come by as paths cross less frequently through the days full of activities. (I don't tuck in my teenagers and read them stories. Haven't for years. If you do, good on ya...but I know my kids would balk at that idea.) The other reason is that the kids would NEVER show each other affection unless someone was leaving on a long trip (and how often does that happen?) or they were forced to.



So, we just decided we'd each get in the habit of hugging each other every night. It's funny to watch the older two boys...who share a room, but will not even change clothes in front of each other. (I'm serious. Cliff and I are NOT overly-modest/prudish people...but dang if we aren't raising kids that way! If we stay in a hotel, no two of them will sleep under the covers together. Someone will have to bring separate blankets to wrap up in. I'm not kidding. Takes the whole "he's touching me!" complaint to a new level. For a close-knit group, they have some weird boundary issues.) Anyway, back to the older two. Their hug is more like a simultaneous chest-bump, double back-slap. They are such dudes.



Coree is such a mommy's girl...she really only wants to be hugged by mom. She would give everyone else a weak little lean-into/arm-pat...if I let her get away with it. Sometimes when I see her do this to one of her brothers, I give her the same quality of hug and when she protests I say, "What? That's how you hugged (fill in the blank)! I thought that's how you liked to be hugged?" Jake loves to hug everyone. This sequence is of Jake trying to force Coree to give him a real hug, instead of the arm-pat she gave him. I told Coree I was going to keep taking pictures of her until she hugged him.



Here we see she does actually know how to hug. In fact, she's hanging on to me for dear life...



Which allows Jake to come in for the kill. She's giggling into my shoulder the whole time. Maybe it's not that she dislikes hugs from brothers as much as she likes to play games? Hmmm. I'm going to have to rethink my gameplan.