brighteyedbadwolf: This is so goddamn important. I verbally express affection. A lot. My husband doesn’t. I don’t know why. For the longest time, part of me wondered if it meant he loved me less.

At some point, I told him about a thing I had done as a kid—holding hands, three squeezes means “I love you!” Suddenly, he’s telling me “I love you” all the time. Holding my hand, obviously, but also randomly—taps on my hand, my shoulder, my butt, my knee, whatever body part is closest to him, with whatever part of him is closest to me. All the time. More often than I ever verbally said it.

It’s an ingrained signal now. I can tap three times on whatever part of him and get three taps back in seconds. Apparently, I do the same. It’s made a huge difference for us. People say things differently.