What's up with touch?

I’m assuming that you, like me, have been virtually living under a rock for the last year or so. Touch has been hard to come by if you are not living with other people, and if you have followed guidance to the letter. Full disclosure: I have been on my own and have basically not touched anyone since April 2019. Tough, and a touchy subject, of course.

I am, in fact, a hugely tactile person and not having that particular element in my life has been hard at first, until I had adjusted and settled into the understanding that it’s just not on the books for now.

This said: it is nearly on the books again: at least here in the UK it has been gloriously announced that we are allowed to hug again – within reason and limited numbers of people, of course. That makes me wonder just how much I should lean into this if I wish to avoid disappointment when another wave comes along and we’ll have to retreat into solitude once more. Not that I hope for this, but I fully expect some level of returning virus threat sometime in the near future.

But let’s look at the positives: for now, we can hug each other, but does that actually mean going beyond hugs? A hug is a fairly simple affair without much level of undress, let alone anything remotely sex-related, right? How are we with nudity in company? How about having sex (within the limits of safe sex guidelines, of course)? Guidance is limited and sometimes vague to the point of suspicion that someone wants to push responsibility out of the way.

Don’t get me wrong: I’d normally be in front of the queue to get touch, intimacy and sensuality back on top of my personal list of things to strive for, but I’m not quite there yet. I believe there are still too many variables to feel unsettled about. That said: you may think otherwise and that is perfectly fine, as long as you don’t endanger anyone else. I’d say: make sure you get your shots AND wait until they have done their job, and until then refrain as much as you can from direct physical contact with those you don’t live with.

I know: hard call, but we are all in this together and the fewer broken links we have, the faster this whole episode in our lives will come to an end. I say, remain cautious! Be careful. Be caring. Hold on just a little bit longer. I know that I will.

Touch will come back into our lives, sooner or later. And the more we look out for each other, the faster it will happen.