What is love?

He cares about me, he likes me a lot. He thinks it might be love, but has never been in love before, so he's not sure.

So what is love?

For me, it's wanting to share my life with him, to make him happy, to hold and make love to him. It's thinking about him first thing in the morning and last at night. Wanting to give my heart, body to him, and to share my mind and energy with him. It's thinking that he's so sweet, kind, funny, cute, sexy, and a great lover...

It's knowing he's the man for me. It's a feeling I haven't had in, well, decades.

He says he feels all that too. I know that's just the tip of the iceburg. But for starters, does that sound like love?

K

Love is never HAVING to say you're sorry,
but always willing to say it..............

Love is always having to say you're sorry. :D

when he stands up for me in front of others even when I am in the wrong.

(Anyone remember those little "LOVE IS" cartoons? When I was a teen I used to cut them out of the paper and I had them pinned up all over my wall above my bed!)

http://pages.prodigy.net/indianahawkeye/newpage24/17.gif

Kalri, that sounds like you are "in love"
Love is much more than that
Adri

Tru, I collected those!!! I still have one glued to one of my books!

For me love is caring for someone to a point that you feel that that person is part of you, and you want to do for her everything you wish for yourself. Every kind of love (family love, romantic love, friendly love, pet love, etc) has its little characteristics, but essentially, for me, it's this. http://www.smilies.org/basesmilies3/1036154273.gif

Kalri, have you and your YM met in person yet? If not, that may be part of the reason he is holding back.

Also, some men get nervous when a woman mentions the "L" word first. They start thinking it means all kinds of commitments and responsibilities before they are ready for it.

I have posted it before but I will say it again. Love is a crush that stood the test of time.

According to a survey I read a few years ago, men get a "crush" first but women are usually quicker to make a commitment once the man has declared his love.
Barbara... ;)

Love is not imagined.

Love does not get jealous, does not get puffed up...


OOPS!!! You want to know what love IS.

Adri, so true, but I said that was just the tip of the iceburg. But your post and Maria's got me thinking about different kinds of love. Some love never goes away, like the love I still feel for my dad, 28 years after his passing. Or the love I feel for my kids, and will always feel, no matter how bratty they are at times. ;)

Yellowrose, yes we have met. I don't think he's afraid of commitment. He hasn't had many relationships, none in a number of years, so it's all new to him. I honestly think he's trying to figure out what his feelings are.

Can a relationship work when people are very different in many ways? I'm very affectionate and emotional at times, quite the opposite of him.

God after being in a dead marriage for so many years this is all so new to me too. What if I'm letting my emotions take control? Maybe I should just try to slow down my feelings, try to figure myself out. I'm getting very confused.

I'm glad I have this place to help me sort through all of this. Even if I'm pretty sure I sound like a babbling idiot at times.

K

Just to add to what everyone else has said about what love is... along with everything else mentioned, I think love also allows the other person to grow in a positive way, and in fact is a catalyst for it. Each person helps in some way to contribute to the mental/spiritual growth of the other.. and makes you want to be a better person... not completing another person, but rather a synergy.. the individual can stand alone, but the two together create something more dynamic. Jeez, I hope I made sense! :D

You did, Gen.

I absolutely agree :)

Kalri...its normal to feel this way after being in a dead marriage for so long. all of the sudden this new person in your life brings back to the surface again all kind of emotions and feelings that your thought werent there anymore.
Enjoy that it makes you feel brand new.
But be careful no to hurt yourself again, dont give yourself so much just yet, wait, look around and explore the relationship first.
i know that saying is easier than actually doing it. But at our age, we should know better and have the capacity to control those feelings for our own sake.
I've been there too, and i've done that as well. I love and let him love me, but i never leave my guards down......just in case
Adri

With great love, comes great responsibility.

That's exactly right!
Experience.....its your best friend and best advicer from now on.
Why on earth we should keep making the sames mistakes over and over again?
Adri

You know, after 36 years, I finally was able to recognize love. I hope I can take up some space here, and describe it now:

Love is: Looking at him and knowing you'll never, ever need another man in your life to be your lover/confidant/best friend.

Love is: Saying your sorry even if you really don't feel like it.

Love is: Knowing you can depend on him as sure as the sun rises and sets.

Love is: Knowing you'll both be faithful to eachother...no questions asked!

Love is: Wanting more than anything for him to be happy.

Love is: Being able to compromise on the drop of a dime!

Love is: Sleeping on the wet spot so he doesn't have to! :D

Love is: Making the relationship a priority, above anything else, and always considering his feelings.

I want to note that the above was all MY WRITING, I didn't get it from anywhere else, and it's also what I practice in real life. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It goes a long way in male/female relationships.

Hee hee hee, yeah, it was figuratively speaking Belladonna420, but hey, I guess the point I was making was, "I'd rather spare my comfort than him be uncomfortable." I guess that's what I was driving at. :)

Love is?

The most unselfish act you will ever do in your life. The ability to care from someone so deeply that you cant think of yourself. Its a trust that you openly give. And when it is returned you are both safe from the dangers of the world. When a person becomes your means, and you theirs. "You are my everything" should be meant. And who would jeopardize their everything?

Peace