All you need is love. Love is patient and kind. Love is a many splendored thing. To know her is to love her. Do you love me, now that I can dance?
Some people say it so easily, I have to wonder if they even notice they say it. “Love you!” It’s like when someone sneezes in a store and a stranger shopping in the next aisle says, “Bless you.” No connection, no emotion, just a couple of words. Other people sit you down and look you in the eyes and say, “I just have to tell you something right now or I’ll explode. I love you.” In either case, the meaning is open to interpretation.
When I say “I love you” to a friend, I am saying, “I treasure our friendship, and you are very important to me.” When I say, “I love you” to my daughters, I am saying, “I cherish you with all of my heart,” and “You are more important to me than life itself.” When I say, “I love you” to a romantic partner, my heart is full of love, and I want to tell him how I’m feeling. I am saying, “ I want to share all of me with you, and I want you to share all of yourself with me.” I am telling him that I am here in this relationship, no matter the challenges.
I think most of my friends know what I mean. I’m certain my daughters know what I mean. But my lover? Maybe not. Romantic love can be confusing. When I tell him I love him, does he understand it the way I intended? And when he says it to me, does he…
