#2013alive: How Are You Letting Your Loved Ones Know You Care?

We’re into month 2, week 1 of our 12 Months of Wellness, and for those of you who read my blog post on Monday, you’ll know that we’re focusing on showing our loved ones we care.

Recently, we talked about the five love languages. They include

• words of affirmation
• quality time
• gifts
• acts of service
• physical touch

Although most of us use some degree of all of these communication styles, we often lean toward one (maybe two) as our primary way of showing and receiving love. And because each one of us is unique, these differences in communication styles can often pose a challenge in relationships.

Our staff members weighed in on the topic—to keep cheeks from blushing, we’ll keep their names to ourselves! Here’s what they had to say:

“My partner and I decided to make it a rule that at a designated time each day, no matter where we are, we give each other a kiss either in person or via text. Between school and working multiple jobs, things can get a bit hectic. To remind me, and to make sure I get the time exactly right, I made sure to set an alarm on my phone (which ends up going off in the middle of class each week. But rules are rules!).”

“[My sweetie] and I have both read the book The 5 Love Languages, which really tells us a LOT about how to communicate to each other in a loving way. My primary love language is acts of service, so [my] often helps out with laundry, vacuuming or unloading the dishwasher without me asking, even drawing me a bubble bath after a long day. His love language is personal touch, so holding hands and playing with his hair help to keep him feeling loved.”

“It is my experience that we all give and expect love in our own ways. Some use speech, some use touch, some buy gifts. We can't ever expect anyone to know what we need at anytime on their own. People are all different, and they need to be encouraged to get it right. If you want love in a particular way, give it out first. It will be returned to you soon after. Whether it's a talk, a hug, a kiss, or sex, if you want it you need to make the first move. Soon it will become habit and you'll have all the love you need. If that doesn't work it's time to move on with someone else, lol.”

“One of my daily questions to my kids is “What was the best part of your day?” Because I know I’m going to hear all about the bad stuff anyways, so it’s important to stay positive.  Besides, the answers often make us laugh. Also giving them lots of kisses and hugs is pretty great too!”

How do you show your love? Is it different from your partner’s/child’s/mother’s way of showing love? How do you manage these differences?