Acts of Love
Recently, I’ve been more apt to tell the people I care deeply about that I love them. This mostly applies to my boys, my husband, and a few close friends. I want the people I care about to know it. And, while I’ve never had a problem saying those three little words, they seem to be more important now.
As I approach my sixties, I know that life is short and precious. It can be taken without notice very quickly through no fault of the person whose life is over. Therefore, I try to remember to tell those I care about that I love them if that is the case.
During the last six months, I’ve realized that I show my love through things that I do for others. Volunteering, baking, and sewing are a few ways that share my love. I just finished making my mom a walker bag. She finally realized that she needs to use a walker while ambulating to steady herself. Since she likes to keep lists and needs reading glasses, I felt that making a bag to carry her essentials with her was a way I could show that I love her. I also found some books on CD to help her return to a pastime she loves — reading. I know that a streaming audiobook subscription would be better as would a library card and the Libby app, but honestly, I don’t want to provide stress for my dad along with the gifts for my mom. He’s the one that will have to set it up on the iPad and I’m not sure writing out the instructions for him to follow will leave the frustration out. It’s not fair to frustrate one for the benefit of the other. Therefore, I plan on setting that app up when we go to visit them this spring.
Gifts for no reason are my specialty, not birthday or holiday gifts. That type of gift I find harder to give, I think it’s because the gifts for no reason are truly gifts of love, not required and not given with reciprocity in mind.
My middle son got a batch of homemade cookies from scratch this weekend during a visit to our cabin. He didn’t expect them and ate about ten of them on Saturday.
I hope that I show my love through these gifts as well as my exclamations of love when I see those I care about deeply. It makes me feel good and I enjoy doing things that require some thought and handiwork.
My husband got me flowers today, but he gives me flowers on a regular basis without the reason a holiday affords. He also made my coffee on Sunday. This is a gift because he doesn’t drink coffee. I got up and it was made, ready to drink. These are also are acts of love — whether it’s Valentine’s Day or any other day during the year.
What acts of love do you perform? Let me know in the comments.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Originally published at http://theapplesinmyorchard.com on February 15, 2022.
