"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways..." We can start with the AC units...




A lot has been said, especially of late in the pop-psych circles, about "love language." What is your love language is a question we are asked to consider. For some, it's mushy cards, expensive jewelry, extravagant trips to exotic places, or it's foot rubs, spa treatments, or shopping binges. Well, for me, yesterday, my husband's "love language" was installing our two air conditioners before he left for work. What a welcome surprise and relief! 

And isn't that it, exactly? Whatever we do, whether for ourselves or for others, that brings both pleasant moments and relief, is love. Yes, I'd love a trip or a bundle of flowers, but really, those are transitory. A cool house on a really hot/muggy May day did so much to lighten my mood! And I had to go to the dentist for three more fillings (ouchily expensive), so to not have to battle a sweaty house as well was a huge gift. And I slept like I'd been felled by a brick last night-- another gift.

When G mowed around a patch of wild daisies in the front lawn so they could continue to grow and bloom-- that was sweet. When he stopped the mower to dig up a rogue pansy that had popped up, that was touching. Those little things mean so much.

I tend to express my care for others in food, or tasks expedited, trying to take a burden off someone else. If I've fed you unexpectedly, or if I've moved your metaphorical game piece along the board, it means I care about you and what happens to you and for you. 

Our culture, through media and ads and so on, has equated love or caring with material things, or with almost-impossible expressions of physical love. O, let's sit in paired bathtubs, holding hands, looking at the sunset! What the hell is that all about? (Yes, I know, it's for ED meds.) What a weird cultural expression that is. I'd rather someone cleaned the bathroom for me.

A random cup of coffee, a funny meme sent, laundry brought upstairs to the washing machine-- those are the things that may seem silly and small, but they truly set the tone for the day. Enough of those little things, and we've built a life that has a language of love embedded at the core.

Have a great day,

C

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