After nearly 2 weeks of being almost exclusively with Mitzi, I was thrilled to get to go out to Bible Study this morning and to see so many of the wonderful friends who fell in love with Mitzi’s sweet spirit and faith. What a gift to go on a mini Hug Parade myself! Whenever Mitzi would be sad and having a hard time, we’d hop in the car and drive around to see friends in various locations. We put a lot of miles on my car on these Hug Parades, but nothing could have been better medicine for her on those days. Today, a Hug Parade was the best medicine for me.
Mitzi gave the world’s best hugs. They started with her face lighting up, then throwing her cheerleader arms up high in the air about 5 steps before she got to you, then a tight squeeze that would transition into a gentle back rub before she’d finally let you go. She never stopped hugging first. I think it says a lot about a person when they are the last to let go of a hug. I always wondered if Alzheimer’s would steal her hug ability, but it didn’t until the very very end, thank goodness.
This picture is one of my most favorites from the Mitzi Memories collection. Her sister, Angela, took it on Mitzi’s birthday a couple years ago. A picture might be worth 1,000 words but this one is worth so much more to me.
In honor of her today, give someone a Mitzi hug and don’t let go first. Mitzi would so love that…????
