free hugs

remember my free hugs t-shirt? well, yesterday i took my son to church (gasp, i know. long story.) and the sermon was called "experiments in peace." the beginning was about the man who started the free hug experiment (movement?). spooky isn't it? of course, his free hugs started differently than mine but...spooky. it's like i was meant to be there and i was meant to hear that. don't worry, i'm not going to go all preachy on you. for those of you who don't know me (and for those who do), i still believe something between creation and evolution and i probably fall somewhere between atheism and agnosticism, yadda, yadda, yadda, yadda. no, i'm not going to argue it and no, you won't/can't change my mind. we went because i read a book recently where the author claims boys need god. in my pursuit of being a good mom, i am going to heed her advice as i do believe my son has questions about god and i know he is interested in god. heck, he might even know god. somewhere along the way he has learned to say grace before meals (which we do consistently),  he asked for a nativity this past christmas and he would like to celebrate chanukkah (or at least incorporate channukkah into our christmas) so i'm guessing the author is on to something. i found a church that appeals to both of us. a church of free faith. or, as my friend put it, a "funky stew of christianity, buddhism, judaism, paganism and some other isms." anyway, we're going and it seems to be a good fit so far. i mean, no one stared at us or gave us dirty looks when my son, who squirmed in his seat the entire hour, started unbuttoning his shirt because he was hot. he even went so far as to take the darn thing off completely and there he sat in his undershirt and jeans. and when we walked out, the teenagers were standing outside wearing their free hugs t-shirts.