My son Isaac lives in Manhattan with his girlfriend Iris. He is 34 years old and is head of marketing for Solid and Striped, a high end swimwear company he founded seven years ago. I have not seen my son since around Christmas. Both he and Iris had Covid-19. They were thankfully minimally symptomatic, tested positive, quarantined themselves, and are fine now.
Saturday afternoon before Father’s Day my bride got a call from Isaac. He had arranged for his friend John to stop at our house on his way from Hollywood to Montecito and to drop off my surprise gift for Father’s Day. A little after 10PM as advertised, our doorbell rang and Joan went to the front door to retrieve my gift which she was supposed to hide until the next day.
All of a sudden I heard my bride scream. I did not think much of it because she is a very positive person, and occasionally Joan gets more excited by something than I do. Then she screamed two more times, and although I like John, I am not sure he deserves three screams. I got off my butt and went to the front door where there stood Isaac and Iris! I cannot remember when I felt so happy. In just three days the two of them had driven over forty hours cross country so they could be with me for Father’s Day. This was truly the best surprise ever.
I gave them both big hugs, and realized this was the first time in over 3 months that I had any physical contact with a human being other than my bride. I then understood how much I have missed human contact and how lonely I have been.
I love watching nature shows and often notice how important touch is in the animal kingdom. Just watch lions interact within the pride or wolves within the pack, or watch any group of primates, and you will see the importance of physical contact.Â
I can’t wait for this damn pandemic to end, and I can’t wait to hug my daughter Kate, who like her brother, also lives in New York. When we finally get the green light announcing the virus is no longer a present danger, we will rejoice in each other’s company and there will be lots of hugs!