#rememberreminder: There Are Many Ways to Say ‘I Love You’
As I close my front door behind me, I hear my daughter Zoey’s feet before I even see her. She scurries across the kitchen floor and then jumps up into my outstretched arms.
“Yay,” she gently sighs as lays her head on my shoulder. “You’re home.”
* * *
‘I love you’ can be said in so many different, wonderful ways, without even speaking those three words:
It can be said in one word—‘Yes’—or in two words—‘I know’—and in four words—‘You matter to me’—and in more—‘I don’t know what I’d do without you…’
It can be an answer—‘Of course’—and it can be a question—‘How can I help?’—and it can be a solution—‘Don’t worry. Take a break. I’ve got this…’
‘I love you’ can be said with outstretched hands or big bear hugs or gentle pats on backs. It can be said with the offering of a shoulder to cry on and with tiny, tender kisses and when the Tickle Monster comes to visit…
It can be heard when two lonely hearts finally meet and felt when two bodies intertwine and found when two eventually becomes three, or sometimes even four or five or six or more…
It can be whipped up with home-cooked meals and passed around with plates of fresh-baked cookies…
‘I love you’ can be handed over with a morning cup of coffee and in the quiet, careful transfer of a sleeping newborn in the middle of the night…
It can be playful—‘Who loves ya?’—and serious—‘I do’—and span continents—‘Te quiero,’ ‘Je t’aime,’ ‘Ti amo’…
It can be said with words of gratitude and kindness and patience and understanding.
‘I love you’ can be heard—and found—in so many places, as long as you remember to pay attention.
* * *
Zoey wraps her legs around me as my arms encircle her waist. We stand there for a few minutes, enjoying our quiet, tender moment together. But then, after I set her down and kiss the top of her head, I finally speak: “I love you, peanut.”
Because although our gestures and other words often carry the same sentiment, it’s still always important to speak that simple, sweet trifecta out loud from time to time, too:
I love you.
Let Us Know: What’s your favorite way to say ‘I love you’ without saying those three little words? How do your loved ones tell you or show you they love you in fun, creative, or unique ways?
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At The Nostalgia Diaries, our goal is to help you simplify, enhance, and engage your lives by focusing on the most important things: remembering, appreciating, believing, and becoming. It’s all about celebrating the past to create better days today.
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I love this! I have especially learned it’s true with my toddler… The other day he said “I just love spending time with you” and it melted my heart! Now I just need to work on this with my husband!
This is so sweet. Little kids are definitely the best at freely showing their love and affection.
Great reminder. It also helps to remember this concept when someone is getting on your nerves. Sometimes the things that annoy us can be intended as acts of love, like when parents say be careful a million times or when you remind your spouse of something too many times because you don’t want them to forget and miss out. Sounds like nagging but it’s really love ❤️
Lovely post. I think one of the most difficult things is learning someone’s love language, but when you do, it’s great!
So sweet! Kids may not say the words but they are great at expressing love. That is worth way more!
I have actually been thinking a lot about this lately!Thank you for the reminders and ideas!
How beautiful, a great way to start a busy Friday by remembering that we do need to stop for a minute and appreciate the people in our lives.
There are so many ways to say I love you. My favorite for my husband is doing dishes and/or cleaning. He is a bit of a neat freak and I am definitely not!
My favorite is a big bear hug and while I am writing this I can think of the people in my life that give the best bear hugs, hands down. I think I may need to go see all of them next week. 🙂 Thanks for this! Great reminder!
I see I Love You in a smile before bed, a glance someone steals, a home-cooked meal, a cup of coffee, in silence, etc. Love can be everywhere. The challenge is not to take for granted its abundance.
Wonderful post!
I love to squeeze my friends, family, and husband a little extra tight and a little extra long! Feels too good not to!
From my husband it’s acts of love- like helping me with the dishes or washing my car and from my toddler she loves giving “care hugs” . She loves the care bears!
I love this post! There are so many ways to say I love you without actually saying it. One of my favorites from my son is “mama you need me” or “I need you” which is so sweet. Or my husband and I say to each other “you’re my favorite.” Things like that.
I love this! It’s so true, and i try to mix it up when talking to my kids!
You are so right – I love you comes in many other forms than just those three words. Sometimes just a simple smile from someone makes me feel so loved.
I didn’t know that I needed this. I definitely can implement this with my husband and our daughter. Thank you!
This is a very sweet post and it’s ture – it can be said in so many ways. Sometimes my little just comes up and lays her hand on my cheek and looks at me. Melts my mama heart!
I am all about acts of service to show and receive love. When I come home from work and the house is clean because my husband decided to stay in and surprise me.
Beautiful <3
I love the many ways to say I love you that you mention here. To me I love you comes in the form of "here, I brought us dinner tonight" or "let me get coffee" or "I'll take the dog out tonight." It's not always traditional, but there are so many unique and simple ways to show someone you are thinking of them <3
When he empties the dishwasher, or folds the clothes. And when I surprise him with chocolate chip cookies. This was a very sweet post. Actions sometimes do speak louder than words.
Actions and words together are the best, aren’t they? When I’d come join the girls somewhere when Camdyn was young, she’d take off in a dead sprint the moment she saw me. Once, it took her into the path of a fast-moving grocery cart!
She sidestepped it and put a hand up like a stop sign.
I love you is a presence, too. Next to you, in the same room, on the other end of the line. In comments (for sure), and gestures, whether it be a warm blanket or a cold drink. Even a bottle of hot sauce if there’s enchiladas on the table.
How cool to know you know this, and Zoey is living it, too.
I really enjoyed this post!
I’m actually learning this with my son, he is 4 and starting to come up with his own ways to show affection – sometimes he will jump on my while I’m sitting and I’ll push him off thinking “omg please get off me!” but then I have to realize – ok just see why he wants physical touch right now, does he just need a reminder that I’m here, a little loving pat on the back?
And sometimes he will just say “mommy I love you” which of course is so sweet! But everyone gives their love differently and sometimes we have to keep an eye out for it because it may not be obvious to us!
This is a lovely post, and a great reminder. We signify love in so many various ways. That’s a great way to evaluate whether someone does, in fact, love you..whether they say and show it in ways besides just saying “I love you.”
Im always telling my kids that actions speak louder than words. Wonderful reminder to express the love!
My favorite way to be said I love you is with coffee already made in the morning.
It is so true! Everyone has their own love language or multiple love languages that mean the most to them. There are so many ways to show or say I love you other than just the tradition.
What a sweet post! My daughter has never been a morning person, so when she was little (she’ll be 20 next month – sob!) I’d wake her up for daycare / school and we’d just spend some quiet time sitting on the couch, with her in my lap. We both enjoyed starting our days that way. Sigh, I miss that!
I recognize “I love you” from my girls when they clean up their rooms without a reminder! Now that says love!
Yes, yes, yes! I love this! My husband and I have much different love languages and I sometimes forget how important this is! Thanks for sharing!
I’m visiting from Coach Daddy and so glad to meet you! This beautiful post reminds us how much joy can be spread through acts and words of love. You’ve definitely brightened my day!
My favorite way to say I love you is to clean up after myself. It always makes my husband feel like I care about our home and him, as seeing clutter distresses him! So easy to do! 🙂
There are many ways to say I love you, and the love language book taught me a lot. I learned how I like to be told and I really learned how to show my family members.
So sweet and true. Kids can make you feel so loved without ever having to say the actual words, “I love you”.
Love this! So sweet, and I love being creative when saying I LOVE YOU. Makes it much more special! – jeanine
this is a great reminder!! I love showing my partner and my family i love them through my actions and not just through my words
Awww!! My way to show the kids love is spending quality time with them. We play Bingo together and I have little prizes for them to win. They love quality time with me!
This is so true! I feel the love when my kiddos want to snuggle with me, or when they get excited when I walk through the door. I also feel the love when my husband makes me breakfast, or pulls out all the folded potato chips from the bag for me because he knows they’re my favorite…
This is so sweet! I love everything about this! When kids say it, you know they mean it!
I love how true this is! My husband and I can say I love you by a look, feel, and action.
A very sweet reminder and one I could definitely use. Life gets crazy and I think I let this one slip by sometimes, but it’s so important to let the people you love know how much you care
Awww I absolutely loved this! Such a sweet reminder that there are many ways we can express I love you to our loved ones <3
It is a very nice read. I love you could even be simply being there right beside the one you love, saying nothing, doing nothing.
This is such a truth! There are so many different ways that we can tell people that we love them.