by Khadija Husain

Created on: April 18, 2007   Last Updated: April 25, 2007

Not counting the very first time you hear the words, "I love you", those three words can soon become stale and almost cursory when in a committed relationship. It is important to come up with different ways of expressing the deep emotions that underlie the oft-repeated "I love you". Men and women have different ways of showing that they care. Most women can probably attest to the fact that sometimes it is like pulling teeth without any Novocaine, trying to get their significant other to talk about their feelings.

After I had the tell-me-how-you-really-feel-about-me conversation with my husband for the umpteenth time, he said something that really shed some light on this whole topic. He told me when I clean the snow off your car before you go to work, I am telling you that I care.

-When I give you a foot rub after you tell me how exhausting your day was, I am telling you I care.

-When I listen to your stories about what our baby did today that stretch longer than the seven months he has been with us, I care.

-When I pack you a lunch because you tell me how sick you are of eating cafeteria food, I care.

-When I know more about what is going on with Gilmore Girls than who is still on the Ultimate Fighting Challenge, I care.

As my husband was speaking I realized that sometimes the every day gestures matter more than poetical outpourings of love and devotion. That is not to say that there are times when a dozen red roses are a bit more expressive than control of the t.v. remote. Still, the next time I was running late to work and rushed out to my car and saw that the snow was already cleaned off my car, and there was a warm cup of coffee in the cup holder, I called my husband and said, "I love you too."

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