Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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THE EMOTIONAL PORCH — When I first started watching this video, I didn't totally get what the big deal was.
Every time a pizza delivery person drops off a pie, I have to fight myself to not hug him or her too. I don't because it would be wildly inappropriate for a 36-year-old man to hug a random stranger, but my intuition is thinking, "This human brought you pizza.
This is currently the most important human on the planet. Hug that human!" But then I got some context around this video and I realized why people are loving it, including me.
A toddler named Cohen and his family got a pizza delivered by Ryan to their home in Rhode Island. Cohen said thank you and then rushed Ryan before he left the porch to give him a hug. He then tried to give Ryan a kiss, but mom said that was a no go. Cohen's affection is adorable, but I was impressed with how great Ryan was with him. He's sweet, understanding, protective and his appreciation seems obvious. Then you find out a bit more about the story and you understand Ryan's reaction and your heart absolutely melts.
Cohen's mom posted the video to her Instagram story and, as you can imagine, it started getting some traction and actually found its way to Ryan. It turns out Ryan had recently lost his daughter and Cohen's hug meant a lot more to him than previously thought.
"We found out that Ryan unexpectedly lost his daughter recently," Cohen's mom wrote. "That hug from Cohen was a little blessing from God."
While I know we shouldn't be running up to strangers and giving them hugs for lots of reasons, including COVID-19, but let's keep an eye out for one another and maybe mental hugs will have to do for now.
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