New measures announced today: no beaches open, no cafes and no bars operational until 2 June. That got me thinking about a sense that is suffering a lot during this pandemic: touch.

I will miss the start of the roasting season for me (since l am blessed to have the beach 10 mins away from the house), the refreshing dip in the sea, the sand between my toes…

I miss spending the weekend (some, not all!) wandering around shops, looking at, ‘evaluating’ and touching fabrics and trying on summer dresses…

I miss… a heavenly massage. A day of getting spoiled at the spa and someone making me feel light as a feather, refreshed and smelling like a Tahitian flower. (Every time I had a massage, I would tell myself that I would have to do it at least once a month/couple of months. There goes that plan! – in case I would have actually decided to do more of what I enjoy.)

And finally, but most importantly, I miss a friend’s embrace, a hug hello from family as I meet them at the airport.. and the touch of the loved one.

If I can live without the sea for a while and my wallet is probably happy not to go shopping, nothing can replace this. Absence and in this case, pandemic, makes the heart grow fonder. I realise the importance of these ‘small’ things, which we do naturally and don’t think too much of. But they DO count. A lot.

We need to touch each other, since that expresses so much. We use it to say hello, but also to encourage and support each other, to reassure, to bring something to your attention, … we hold hands, pat on the back, shake hands to greet, hug, hold, protect… so much of our non-verbal communication uses this sense. We are drawn to each other like magnets and it’s the ones we are closest to and we love, that we touch and get touched by.

We use touch to show we care.

While the other senses I have written about – smell and taste – are something that we do individually, touch is one which involves others. It bonds us.

I hope we are able to go back to times where we can hug each other tightly and we don’t let go 🙂

I found a quote by John Keats: Touch Has a Memory. How true is that?