As  my weeks at Agawak draw to a close I am reflecting on what I will miss most.  Topping that list is our bracing lake that never fails to make us feel fully awake and alive.  These pristine waters, ranked as one of the cleanest lakes in Wisconsin, have been an oasis that bolsters mind and body and spirit for going on a century!  We celebrate the camp's 100th birthday in the summer of 2021.  

Right up there with the recharging powers of a lake is the recharging power of a hug.  On any given day, I may get nearly as many hugs as the number of years Agawak has been around.  The human touch is what sustains all of us, the touch in real-time, face to face, away from the technogadgets not allowed at camp.

Yesterday, I counted 82 hugs, some from 8-year-olds who barely made it to my waist, others from girls in older cabins who stand nearly six-feet tall.  Another round of embraces comes from my fellow staff members.  We hug each other "Good Morning" at flag-raising and we hug each other in passing to our activities on our 265-acre grounds.  We hug each other when we meet again at the flagpole before dinner, and we hug each other good night.  One of the best hugs of my day comes from the taut and strong Mary, a former softball star.  No matter how busy she is, will always make time for good hard hug.

The human touch gives all of us a dose of love and connection not possible with any heart emojis or by sending adoring messages to Facebook "friends".  In these thick woods where campers are not allowed cell phones or computers, real communication and relationship-building takes place, with the simple act of a hug. 

Hugging can even help us live longer.

There have been numerous scientific studies on the effects of oxytocin, called "the bonding hormones," on a human's impulse to relax, which lowers stress.  Oxytocin is released with a gesture as light as fingers brushed across someone's cheek or an embrace.  According to studies conducted by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, even hugging twice a day is directly related to lowering blood pressure and the reduction of heart disease.  

Even though our young campers don't have to worry about these adult illnesses yet, it's never too early to get the oxytocin steadily flowing, making all of us feel better about life and about ourselves.  

I was raised by European parents who greeted strangers they just met not with a handshake but with a warm embrace.  From childhood on, I grew into a hugger and summer camp is the perfect place to do what comes naturally.  I love the feeling of a long hug, one that crushes my body with a force that is not painful but a force that means something.

There is real power in a hearty hug; it says "I care about you.  You have value to me."

When these words are voiced they never evoke the same volume of sentiment as outstretched arms wrapping you in a lengthy clutch.  After we said the Pledge of Allegiance this morning at the flagpole, a group of our youngest campers scampered over to me and gave me a group hug.

I hope it was because they like me a lot.  Yet, I know it is mostly because I passed around a bag of KitKat candy bars in their cabin during rest hour.  I don't care - I'll take all the hugs I can get, whatever the reason.

A longtime colleague of mine at American University of Washington, D.C. where I teach is someone I routinely greet with a hug.  She used to respond with a bristling body and say, "Oh Iris, I'm just not a hugger."  Over the years, she has softened and is the first to reach out her arms to me.

I tease her and say,  "When did you turn into a hugger?" And she answers with a smile: "When I found out how much better my day goes after getting a few comforting hugs."

Environmentalists encourage us to hug a tree and yes, that feels good, too.  But, there is nothing like a body-crunching hug from another person to remind us what it means to be a human.

We are put here on earth and at summer camp to share and receive kindness and love.