I remember when I was a little girl and my Daddy would bring my mom a big heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day. He would hand it to her in the kitchen, while she was cooking dinner and right after he got home from work that day. Sometimes he would have flowers too and he always had a card in an over-sized pink or red envelope.
They would kiss and he would give her an extra big hug as he presented them to her. I remember watching them and wishing that I would someday have the same.
I always felt so safe when those moments happened. When I could openly see their love for each other, when they were willing to show it off in that way.
But I never really heard my Daddy tell my Mom he loved her. I am guessing he did when they were alone at times. And when I think about it I don’t really tell Tim “I love you” in front of our children very much if at all.
In all honestly, I think we throw the word “love” around a little too easily these days.
“Oh, I just LOVE your sweater!“
(trust me, I am TOTALLY guilty of this one…)
“Oh my gosh, don’t you just LOVE that movie?”
“I would LOVE to go to Hawaii!”
(that last one is really true though)
And well, I DO love chocolate. I would totally marry it if I could.
And you know, if I wasn’t already in love and married.
Anywho.
I love my husband. I love my children. I love my parents and my family. And I love God. But all that other stuff? I just like it a lot. It satisfies me in other ways but not in the way(s) that REAL love does.
I tell all those people that I love them ALL the time. I want them to know how I feel about them and how much they are TRULY loved. But I think I am going to start being a bit more conservative with my use of the word in other situations and possibly change it to “adore” or “like” or “really like”, stuff like that. You know, like “I ADORE that outfit!” 
What do you think about the word LOVE, do we use it too much or in the wrong way? Or do you think we should just LOVE everything up?
I’m going to ponder this too while I dig into my big box of chocolates…
P.S. Happy Valentine’s Day!! Hope you are blessed enough to spend it with the ones you LOVE.
P.P.S. If you want to read a mushy post about why I love my hubby, you can, right HERE!
I probably do throw the word around a little too freely as well.
But I love using it!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I definitely throw around the word love too much. I think it is just because I’m enthusiastic about things I really like – and I express that enthusiasm with love. Or I need a thesaurus.
I definitely throw that word around a bit too often too. Though I do love to use it.
But what you said above about your parents? I’m the same way. I didn’t hear them say it much, if at all, but those moments when my Daddy did something like that made me feel so safe.
I use it a lot! I tell my boys, all three of them, multiple times a day I love them…
Of course the whole chocolate and Hawaii thing? Totally guilty of that too.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours!
I used to say it a lot as well, but I’ve substituted saying “That’s fab” instead. I don’t conserve my “loves” with my kids, husband and family. I tell them everyday, several times a day how much I love them! I want them to know how much they are valued and loved in my heart!
What a sweet memory. My daddy would always get us a box of chocolates from the store. Those red cardboard boxes were delicious! He also got my mom flowers from the grocery store. He is the best Dad in the world. He taught me a lot about love : ). Hope your day is special.
I’m all mushy and emotional today. The image of your mom and dad was so perfectly written, it made me weepy. It reminds me of my mom and dad too. And my dad would always bring me a little box of chocolates too, to make me feel important. *sigh*
Beautiful post, Elaine!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I’m making an effort to not say the word LOVE unless it really applies. It’s hard, but I try.
(And, we try to say it in front of our kids to each other, too:)