Little ways to say 'I love you'

Flowers are great, but so are these ideas

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is about little ways you can show your
love to the important people in your life. The rose
industry always does a booming business right around February fourteen,

(00:24):
which is Valentine's Day in those places that celebrate this
holiday of romantic love, and certainly a big bunch of
roses can send a romantic message. Though my husband and
I joke that because our anniversary of meeting and also
of getting engaged a year later is February, we can
conveniently show our love with heavily discounted Valentine's Day merchandise.

(00:47):
But there are lots of creative ways to show love,
and not just on Valentine's Day but through the year.
Many of us are on our phones all day anyway.
A quick affectionate text to your partner or kids can
turn your phone and there's into something more than just
a source of stress. Or you can write a real note.

(01:08):
A few words on a sticky note put on the
bathroom mirror can bring a smile to someone's face. Flowers
on Valentine's Day might be expected but flowers on your
average Tuesday are not, so pick up a small bouquet
at the grocery store or even the gas station and
add a little beauty to the next time you say hello.

(01:28):
Other little gifts can work, too, like picking up a
book at the library that you know the person would enjoy.
Part of saying hello is actually well saying hello, and
increasingly I believe that one of the best gifts we
can give people is the gift of full focus. So
put the phone away for a while, ask someone a
question and really listen to the answer. You can also

(01:50):
share your love by allowing the other person to listen
to you saying something nice. Pretty much everyone loves being
complimented in front of other people, and this is great
when you're in a multiperson conversation. But I think it's
even nicer if the person accidentally overhears you say a
kid while you're talking on the phone with Grandma or
your spouse when you're on the phone with a friend.

(02:13):
Since the person doesn't know for sure, if you know
they're listening, it comes across it's more authentic. Sometimes the
best gift you can give is letting someone off the hook.
If you know the other person is really dreading an
event or a particular chore like calling customer service. Offered
to take this off their plate. You'll attend the family event,

(02:33):
you'll call to file the complaint. Lots of couples with
young kids split who wakes up early with them on weekends.
But if you've not made an explicit split, offer to
do it someday and let your partner know ahead of
time so he or she can relish the coming rest.
When I've written about some of these ideas in the past,
I've often heard from readers or listeners who remind me

(02:53):
about Gary Chapman's book The Five Love Languages. And you know,
we can assign too much stock to strict frame works,
but it is true that's certain ways to show love
register more with some people than others. Some people get
excited about fancily wrapped gifts, and some people are more
physically affectionate for someone else. Vacuuming out the car is

(03:14):
the equivalent of a dozen roses, So it might be
worth noting how your partner tries to express love to you,
because that might hold clues about how he or she
would like you to express love. But in any case,
when you study the research on human happiness, it's pretty
clear that a bunch of little things often outweighs one

(03:35):
big thing. We get used to much and the glow
from a big present well very cool, don't get me wrong.
May fade to baseline over a while, but learning again
and again how much you are loved makes every day
seemed like a gift. So how do you to express
love creatively? You can let me know at Before Breakfast

(03:55):
podcast at iHeart media dot com. In the meantime, this
is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear
from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

(04:19):
and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the
number four, then breakfast p o D. You can also
shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at I
heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out
with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

(04:45):
I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows, yeah,