Love is being married to the same man for 40 years and he still enjoys giving me goosebumps from kissing the back of my neck, every year he remembers to buy me Cadbury eggs at Easter time, and he always whistles when I walk out of the shower. – Pamela
When I married Mr. B he was unemployed after his company folded up shop. He spent months looking for a job but no luck. He was either overqualified because of his IT work history or under qualified without a college education. My retail job kept our heads barely above water as bills piled up. Mr. B’s self esteem took a huge hit. Since the age of sixteen he had a job and now he had a wife he couldn’t provide for. He decided to join the United States Air Force. Insurance, paychecks, and a chance to go to college came with the job once he signed on the dotted line. He went to basic training in San Antonio and I prepared for seven weeks apart. My dad told me to write him a letter everyday. “It’s rough in basic. Those letters from home have a way of making the worst day feel bearable.”
I sent forty-nine letters, one for each day we were apart. Not many letters came back from him, but when they did it was wonderful. He kept a running journal of each day, just a few sentences. My first letter from him came with the three page journal. I recently re-read the letters and feeling his stress/anxiety through them was sobering. His flight was the F-Troop, so bad they got one instructor reassigned for his failure to train them.
At twenty-three, Mr. B was used to freedoms his eighteen year old counterpart were not. Home sickness was his biggest issue along with the fear of being ‘washed back’. This is when you have to start over in basic. He was so worried about it he kept an injury hidden and performed minor self surgery to avoid the Med clinic. (I was not happy about that one, at all!)
Looking back over his letters one sentence sticks out in my mind. “My first letter from Bridget came today and I cried when I read it.”
Mr. B is a strong, silent type. Very stoic. I can count his tears over the last seventeen years on one hand and still have fingers left over. Knowing a letter from me hit him so hard told me a lot. A little gesture that spoke volumes. I started thinking about other times one of us has done something small in scale but meant the world to the other gestures are beautiful but I really think it is the smaller gestures I enjoy most.
Love is when he rubs your back and massages your aching hands while you talk at night. Love is when he brings you your favorite chocolate because you’re feeling stressed. Love is when you stroke your child’s hair and sing her to sleep every night at bedtime. Love is being there for someone when they need you, love is listening without judgment, love is accepting someone as they are, love is giving of yourself, love–real love, comes without any expectations or conditions – Liana
On facebook I asked people to define love in small gestures. They had to finish the sentence “Love is…”
Love is…
not complaining about my cold feet in the bed – Jasmyn
34 years together and my man stills makes me giddy when he smiles at me! – Angela
morning cuddles – Sara K.
having that 1 person that can make you smile even on the worst days – Sara D.
still getting butterflies whenever he takes me on a date – Alexis
knowing to be there when needed even if you’ve not been invited – Lavern
Finding out your husband of 11 years listens to Kelly Clarkson at work because her songs make him think of you – Bonnie
Cutting 3 inches off crutches and piecing them back together for your short wife with fractured foot. – Robin
buying ice cream for your girlfriend when shes feeling down – Amanda
giving you the last bite – Stephanie
The door handle on my truck broke and my husband refuses to fix it. He said he likes to open the door for me – Jody
Peeling the pistachios for me because I don’t like to mess with the shells. – Amber
being treated with respect – Linda
when I’ve had a really bad day and her arms are there to wrap around me.- Amy
Sara Feiss Art – shop her Etsy store here
Love is not having an appetite for days because an old hag’s comment made your self esteem go down but going into your bag to get your laptop to find he placed a baggy of your favorite snacks and a note that says “For my beautiful wife. I need you alive” – Lisa Marie
Life throws up for a loop and suddenly your day turns to night. Hopefully, it only lasts a day.
Love is being selfless, being kind, loving beyond fault, putting your children, your spouse, and God first before yourself. Love is staying by your sick child’s beside day and night, day after day, month after month, in a horrid Cancer battle and holding said child in your arms as he died. – Mary
Sometimes love is painful. I once heard it said that the opposite of love is not hate, for hate is the absence of love. No, the opposite of love is grief. When the mortal vessel love lives inside has reached it’s end, grief in others is the proof it existed. For this reason, grief is a beautiful celebration of love. Don’t fear grief, though it is painful, because without it you can’t know the joy of real love.
Life is hard, when you really have someone who loves you that makes the load easier. I hear a lot of people say that love should be easy, where did that idea come from, you have to work at the things you want, why would you do less for the love of your life, it requires maintenance and work, you have to tend it everyday. – Linda
We live in a day when relationships don’t stand the test of time, according to statistics. We’re told true love is a magical experience that just happens.
We work for everything in life, why wouldn’t we work for love? Work doesn’t have to mean back breaking endeavors. Little things count big time. Don’t waste a day without showing your loved ones why they matter; family, friends, spouses/significant others, etc.
If you’re unsure how to go about doing this I think Christy W. summed it up well when she answered my post with “Love is everything.”
Bridget Blackwood 