How do you wave? By that, I mean how do you wave at people you recognise? I have discovered recently that I have several waves at my disposal. (You will have already realised that this is a hugely fascinating subject). There's an old lady who lives down the road from me and, when I spot her in the distance, I give her a rapid side-to-side hand wave. It's pretty girly, I admit, but is apt for the situation, I feel. Then there's my wave to a contemporary male. This is much more macho and resembles a casual Nazi salute---I don't click my heels but my arm is raised to almost perpendicular with absolutely no movement of the hand. Should you spot the same friend in the pub, for example, a wave is out of the question. Pointing at him and nodding is all that's required. With kids, you acknowledge them with a rigid, horizontal arm, breaking the wrist for an up-and-down flapping of the hand and a cheerful (hopefully, not scary) "HIYA".
I probably think about these things too much.