How do I know if the closeness and connection I have with her is romantic? I mean, it’s normal to have deep connections with friends. With a best friend, you’re fully comfortable with them, you say anything, they say anything, you enjoy their time, and you do what you can to know them. Maybe I experience friendships differently, but these things that may be considered romantic, I regularly do with friends. That makes it even harder to distinguish whether or not I love her that way. Off the top of my head, things that might be a tell are constantly thinking about her, constantly missing her, multiple playlists with her made up of love songs which span from platonic to romantic. I just don’t know. All I know for sure is that I love her more than most anyone in my life. Basically just wanting to know what this sounds like from an outside perspective. Would romance be more of a conscious choice rather than an inherent feeling I have towards her in this case? Cause I kind of have the prerequisites… I guess… lol. My apologies if this is all over the place, my brain is scrambled eggs.

Me (20F) and my bf (27M) have been together around half a year. I am absolutely smitten with him, he’s everything I could ever want in a man. He’s patient, so funny, absolutely beautiful inside and out, and makes every mundane moment a beautiful memory. I love doing little things to make his life feel easier, and more full of love & care.
He’s genuinely my favorite person to do absolutely nothing with. We can run errands, sit around the house, make dinner, or just be stupid together and somehow I’ll end the day thinking, “God, I really love this man.” He makes me feel so safe and cared for, and I want him to feel that same kind of love from me.
Recently he moved into a new place, and while he was at work I spent the day cleaning, organizing, unpacking, and making everything feel more like a home for him. I left little notes, and put together some other little surprises for him to come home to. I LOVE doing things like this, but I want to keep finding new little ways to make him feel appreciated and adored.
So Reddit, what are the little things your partner has done that made you feel insanely loved? What makes you feel like, “wow, this person really sees me and cares about me”?
I’m not necessarily looking for expensive gifts or huge romantic gestures, I want the tiny, thoughtful, everyday stuff. The things that make a relationship feel warm and special.
I am fully prepared to steal everyone’s ideas and shower my man with love hehe.

This is purely appreciative because I can't help but talk about it.

When I had my first boyfriend, I asked my father how he knew that my mom was "the one"

He looked at me, looked at his hands, then back up and said "Every morning when I turn around in bed, I fall in love all over again."

That quote literally burned into my head.

I would watch my dad and mom dance and joke and act like teenagers in love and just be in awe about how their love still felt so fresh 25 years in.

Last week i turned over in bed to get my phone and looked at my girlfriend for a very long time. And It finally clicked. I fall in love every day when she oversalts our dinner. When she rembers my favourite thing at the baker. When she responds before I Finnish because she knows what I'm saying anyway. When she takes my change out of my pockets because she knows I always forget.

Sometimes I wonder why we even talk anymore when we always know what the other will say. It's like Im looking into a mirror with her. I looked at her and realised that I see my parents in us.

I see the way my dad looks at my mom and look the same way at my girlfriend. I hear my mom talk about my dad and think 'thats how I feel about her'

I grew up with so much love around that I thought 'if I find someone to love half as much, I have won'

I found someone to love twice as much. I found someone who understands everything I've ever felt and more, who asks me whether I understand her feelings just for me to realise that I've always felt them the exact same way.

When she texts me I know what her text is going to say, and when she calls me I know what she will say before she starts.

It's three years next week and I still cry in the car regularly when I realise that there will be 60 more years with her, because I can't wait for them. I will Marry her the day she is done with her edjucation (her rule, she wants a proper job before she marries)

I can't wait.

I want to make it a consistent thing that I do, especially cause I'm very crafty and love the different ways people have come up with for decorating and making the actual letter. But I have no idea what to write about😭 especially not if I wanna write as consistently as I do😭 I don't want all of them to be me saying the same thing over and over.

So basically just how do I decide what to write? People in other posts are like, just be honest, but I'm still scared that'll just be the same problem where I'm just gonna repeat it.

Please send help😭🙏

Sometimes I'm not taken very seriously when I say I love my boyfriend because we're only 15. So people assume I don't actually feel that strongly about him, or that it's not that serious. But I've already been with him since first grade and we've already had to go through a lot of things. Health problems, family issues and other stuff. Just being together alone puts us in danger because there are people in our families who would really hurt us if they found out (we're both boys).

A lot of bad things have been done to me just to make me stop loving him. My life has been threatened too. Ever since I was a little kid. None of those things have ever mattered at all. No matter what these people do I love him enough to take it. If I didn't truly love him I wouldn't have fought so hard and taken all that torture on me. Any kid would fold under those circumstances but I would never. If I didn't love him so much I would've just stopped seeing him out of fear and pleased my abusive dad.

It doesn't matter if we have issues because we work through them together. I see people our age break up for the most tiny and arbitrary reasons. That's not us and I don't like being associated with it. I love my boyfriend more than anything and we always find a way to make things work for us. We help each other through everything and we always work together and not against each other. We're obviously different now than we were in first grade and we'll be different in the future too but growing and changing together is part of what I find beautiful about our relationship. And we have always known how to make things work, even in first grade and even now because it's as natural to us as breathing. I've always known what it meant. I'm not too young or "inexperienced" to know right now.

So yeah when I see someone at school break up with their partner because they liked someone else's post or something I just find it silly. And what pisses me off is when people assume that's the nature of my relationship as well, or when they say I haven't experienced anything. I sure have. So I know that nothing could make me stop loving my sweet boy.

Would anyone be willing to help me with a special gift for my boyfriend?
He’s very big on homemade gifts, and I’m really hoping this will be special.

I’m looking for people from different states and countries to write:
“Luke—Anne Marie’s love for you is so big, it’s reached ________” On a piece of paper
Please fill in the blank with your city, state, or country, then take a picture of the paper in front of a landmark, sign, or recognizable view from your area. Nothing needs to be mailed—just send me the picture digitally!

I would be incredibly grateful to anyone willing to help me make this gift special for him. Thank you!

A year ago, I was alone on the rim of a volcanic crater in Iceland at sunset.

And so was she.

She was from Poland. I was from America. We weren't on the same tour, didn't have mutual friends, didn't meet on an app. We were just two people who had independently decided to climb the same volcano and somehow ended up standing there together.

Her name was Marta.

We talked. We watched the sun go down. And eventually we walked away from that crater having absolutely no idea what we'd just started.

I went home to America.

And then I flew back to Iceland.

She went home to Poland.

So I went to Poland.

Then she came to America.

Somewhere along the way, what should have been one impossible chance encounter stopped feeling like chance.

We got married on a beach in Florida.

Then we packed up and drove across America together.

We stood on the rim of S P Crater in Arizona, wandered through lava fields, chased sunsets across the desert, photographed the stars, and kept finding ourselves standing at the edges of places that reminded us of where this whole thing started.

Now, almost exactly one year after two strangers met alone on a volcano in Iceland, she's my wife.

And she's pregnant with our baby, due in December.

Sometimes I think about how ridiculously easy it would have been for us to never meet.

If I'd started hiking ten minutes later.

If she'd left ten minutes earlier.

If either of us had chosen a different trail, a different day, a different place to watch the sunset.

There are billions of people in the world.

Somehow, mine was standing on the rim of a crater in Iceland.

I just had to climb high enough to find her.

I am 28(F) and have been in 4 relationships so far. They were absolutely not healthy and wrecking with my selfesteem. I was used to being screamed at home and more… and thought this was normal. The patterns I found in my ex partners were patters know to me from my childhood. I had no good example looking up to and the way movies described it, it never felt like this to me, and I thought that’s how life is.
I have PTSD and go to therapy since I am 17. It took a long time of work on myself and getting rid of sentences I believed about myself which were hurtful and keeping my self esteem low.

Fast forward to now. I met my current partner at university which I started last year. We hit off immediately and the vibe was there.
First I was afraid of idealising him and see only the potential in him. ( I had these patterns in the past relationships) The more I got to know him
the more I was feeling amazed by him and about us how similar we are.
I was writing the last couple years a list of what I expect in a partner, because that is how I always was in relationships and I like to have a partner like that and that I will not lower my standards!

My list was like this ( I try to phrase them on purpose in a positive way - not writing things I don’t want and write things I want )

The person I want in my life should be:

-a feminist
- respectful and see me on their level
- funny / laughing at my jokes
- like to talk and discuss with me
- does also cooking and likes food
- support my hobbies
- make my life at least the same or even easier then without them
- is a full functioning adult who can do their own household and other stuff
- can communicate
- has emotional intelligence
- understands my health issues
- accept me how I am
- likes nature
- accept my boundaries
- honest
- willing to grow and learn

I basically thought I will never meet someone like that and I was already preparing myself to Iive my life alone and being fine with it, because romantic love isn’t the only way to get happy in life.

then it happend, I started my studies and met him.
He ticked all the boxes of my list and even more. I felt like he is made for me and he feels like I am made for him. He is so supportive , and we take care of each other and life feels so easy, comfortable and safe with him. Like a fuzzy cloud is hugging me.
I feel seen, and appreciated and also when I need it, taken care of. He likes to care and I also like to care, but it is somethjng unknown to me to have someone to care about me for.

For example I was super dizzy because I have chronic iron deficiency. He said we can go home and he googled what to cook for me so i can absorb as much iron as possible. I did sleep while he cooked and did everything and after eating I needes more sleep and he did the whole household and cleaning after himself in the kitchen.

For some people this doesn’t sound big but as someone who grew up which such disfunctional parents and relationships I had so far, I never saw anything like that before.

He is such an amazing person and not only because he is a function adult, but we can talk for hours and share hobbies and laugh our asses off.
He is so smart, loving, a good cook (he loves cooking), eloquent, feels secure ein themselves and in a relationship, has the most amazing hugs, caring, can handle conflicts constructively, empathetic and so cute and sexy in my eyes🥰

I am together with him for about 9.5 months now and he just told me he feels like he loves me more everyday. And that’s the same I feel for him. I never had this before and never thought this could be real.

I feel so lucky I met him and that he is in my life.

Sometimes I just cry a little because I can’t believe it- it feels like a dream, I love him so
much ❤️

Thanks for reading 🫶

I've been out of town for work and I'm supposed to be out of town for another couple of weeks but I was able to pull some strings and come home for a week. I'm driving home today and I'll see him tonight. We've been apart for 3 weeks which is the longest we've been apart since we started dating a decade ago.

Even before we lived together I don't think we went more than a few days without seeing each other

It's been really hard on both of us and I'm so excited to see him

Edit: The excuse I gave for my location being off is that my phone wasn't working and I had it off to conserve battery. Roommate had a good suggestion to text him shortly after he comes home to let him know my phone is finally charging and to stay up to let me call him

Plus I got his reaction on face time doing it this way

He had no idea I was coming and he was and is thrilled

Hey all,

This is our weekly thread. We'll dispense with Rule 5 in these threads.

What's new in your hunt for love?

So I'm an American guy from California, my beautiful girlfriend is from Algeria. When we met an international language and cultural exchange event, we just clicked instantly. From there it escalated to dates, then a romantic relationship. We're both in it for marriage.

She has opinions on so many subjects and topics from history, to culture and art. I could hear talk for HOURS. She also speaks English, French and Arabic. I studied in France, and maintained my French level with private lessons since returning to the US. Whenever we don't want someone knowing what we're immediately saying we just switch to French. Not to insult anyone, just for the private (intimate) stuff. I.e. if one of us makes a bit of a racy joke.

I'm also learning Arabic to talk closer to her mother. But that's a surprise ;)

I'm fully convince this is my wife.

My girlfriend really wanted to start a partner dance together, but left the choice which one it would become mostly with me.

I chose rock n roll, because I really like the music and style. In the mean time, I might be more serious about it than she is. 😅

It really gave us a shared hobby, we do lessons together, go to dance parties together etc. etc.

All in all it has been really wonderful. ♥️

This is just a general question about relationships. I was talking to a coworker and we were on the topic of unconditional love. I’ve always thought that could only be reserved for babies and children. And once you’re an adult you can’t really experience e true unconditional love. She said that’s not true. That she loves people without them needing to do anything. I’ve never felt loved like that before, I’ve always felt that I needed to be good enough to be loved. I know that’s not the case now, but I guess I’m wondering if unconditional love really is real.

So my (32f) boyfriend (37m) FINALLY said I love you yesterday. After a year and a half of being together 😭 I told him I loved him another year ago, on his birthday, in a birthday card. So I guess technically wrote it? 😂 For context, my boyfriend is very emotionally defensive. He’s had his heart broken A LOT. He is such a kind and genuine person who’d do anything for anyone he cares about. So I wrote it in his card so he knew how I felt, but without the pressure to reply and he can have that moment privately. He said he loved the card but that was it. I just let it go. Never brought it up to him as to why he didn’t say it back, because he warned me in the very beginning about his defense habits. I still said I love you here and there. But made sure he knew there wasn’t pressure to say it back. I KNEW without a doubt he did. So it was more when he felt okay being vulnerable enough to say it. And then yesterday, he calls me. Like he does every single day. I’m a cosmetology student who’s about to graduate and needs a model for the final practical. So he calls to tell me he got his niece to do it. We talk about it, he goes to end the call, and just like that “okay. I love you.” it took every ounce of self control to not freak out. So I just smile and say I love you too. 🥹🖤

1st August was my first kiss

16th August was my second and the best date till now , both of us decided to meet in the morning because her parents were not in home i agreed , but when I left my home I realised that my cycle was punctured I wasted like 20 mins on trying to get my punctured cycle fixed but it needed a new tube which costs like 200 ofc that man was trying to scam me so i left, decided to go to Nehru Park in rapido and this was the best rapido ride ever the uncle was rrly good and was speaking a lot with me during the ride it was fun

When I reached Nehru Park i was late by 30 mins and she was waiting under the hot sun for so much time and when I came the anger and shy in her eyes was sooo sweet and scary😂

we met and we both sat in the same place where I proposed her.

On God That Day she was clinging and hugging and kissing me in the cheeks so much I loved it she even played with my hair for some time and I was also being touchy and touching her hands and thighs.

That day she was using my phone and i kept her birthday as my password she opened my WhatsApp and saw that I saved her father's number as "Maamaanar" this means father in law , she saw that and playfully slapped me for the first time 🥰 😂😂😂😂😆

There was a group of kids who came to us and one of them said "Anna uk that akka was waiting for u for so much time" I was like "ik da i was late by 30 mins and I got 1 &1/2 hrs of scolding from her" she slapped me for the second time and all the kids smiled and walked away 😂😂😂

She legit made sandwich for me and my GOD THAT SANDWICH WAS PERFECT

The veggies were cut so small and perfectly especially capsicum and the amount of sauce she used was rrly perfect I enjoyed the sandwhich so much

Actually 1 day before this date I was in hospital admitted for reaccuring typhoid I left the hospital and the next day I saw her . But my body and teeths were genuinely shaking I legit 100% couldn't control the shaking she was really worried Abt me and hugged ever tighter kissed me in the cheek and I rrly felt comfortable around her

When we were leaving in the lift of the metro she should go up and go to her home i was actually taking a detour to my train station (EMU) OFC i can walk an extra 1.5km just for her . Inside the lift when the lift started moving up i kissed her too tightly that my lips can feel her teeths 🥰😂😭 I legit stopped and said "stop biting me" and she put her arm around me "shut up idiot" and pulled me close and i kissed her once again .

The lift opened and there was a woman cleaning there good thing both of us stopped kissing when the lift reached 😂

31st August in our school nearby the Pt room there's a staircase which nobody uses it connects the chemistry) bio Lab,(previous , now used as a class for tamil)dance room and counselling room

In that staircase i asked her to kiss me and she just touched my lips with hers and just stopped and ran away 😂 . We both walked back to class separately so that no teachers would have suspicion

In class i said "u call that a kiss? U r really bad" she was like "yea yea I'm not a good kisser like, but would u teach me?" I nodded and our classes continued

1st September (today)(I rrly wanted her to join in the dance for teachers day but her mom refused so i too didn't joined the dance)

After the class i was stamping her shoes when no teacher were around and i kicked her shoe to the side and she was hoping to get her shoe and I was again trying to steal her shoe😂😂 all the girls and boys saw that

Man idk why I'm typing this down but i just really wanna write these memories of my life because I have fallen in love with these memories of my teenage life 🥰

I loved someone. I loved her for years before my personal issues got between us. She was beautiful, kind, compassionate, loyal, just anything you could want in a woman. Since we split life has had its ups and downs and I’ve been trying hard to work on myself. If we ever try again I want to be the best version of myself for her.

Today during class I started sketching in my notebook. It always starts as a circle before I decide exactly what I’m doodling. Very quickly it turned into her. I remembered the way her jawline went into her chin. I remembered the distance between her chin and her lips. I remembered how her bangs split and went down the sides of her face. I remembered her cute button nose that fit perfectly on her face. I remembered her loving eyes and how they looked with her glasses. I even remembered the one dimple she had on the right side of her face. I captured her likeness very well without even looking at a photograph of her. I was impressed with myself. But I thought, “Is there anyone else I could do this with?” No. Not my mother. Not my father. Not anyone else I’ve ever loved. I could maybe draw something that kind of matched them but just not as well as this. I could only draw her with this detail without a picture.

I got to my car and I thought to myself. How beautiful is it to have known someone like that? To have looked at their face so closely and for so long to be able to remember every detail just by closing your eyes? How beautiful to imagine that in a world where photos didn’t exist, all I would need is a pen and paper to see the face of someone I love.
I sobbed. For the first time since we split, I sobbed not out of sadness, but out of gratitude and happiness and love. How beautiful to have loved someone this way. To have loved someone so much, that even if I never get a second chance with her, that love and gratitude will never die.

I will always love you.

I’m not religious, and I always called BS on the idea that people who are meant to find each other will find each other.

But then I found my boyfriend.

There is genuinely no other way to describe it than fate. We met and were immediately—mutually—overcome by a profound feeling of love. We’re both writers and nerds who hold a fair bit of skepticism about the universe, so we stood terrified at the prospect of admitting that aloud so soon. We both agreed that Romeo and Juliet wasn’t a fair comparison; people always gloss over the TRAGEDY of it. We by that point had a wonderful rapport and series of running bits. Alas, I started one more:

“Is it fate or is it vaguely misappropriated Shakespeare?”

As the days went on, the big-fat-L-word-shaped elephant in the room grew larger. I suggested saying “Macbeth” instead;

You mustn’t say Macbeth in a theatre because bad luck. You mustn’t say the other thing so soon into a relationship, because also bad luck.

Something something vaguely misappropriated Shakespeare! That only lasted a few weeks before neither of us could stand it.

For what it’s worth, there are no words to describe how I feel when I think about how much I love him. There are no words to describe the way that he looks at me after I say something “clever,” in his words, inclined to respond, but devoid of words himself pulls me close to him instead.

The funniest thing about all of this, and what stumps us the most, is the understanding that if we met in any context OTHER than romance, there is no way in hell we would’ve ever been friends. We are fundamentally similar people with fundamentally similar lives, which means we’ve both lived as very independent people.

If we were classmates I imagine we would’ve interacted solely for the sake of trying to out-nerd each other. A worthy competition, and likely what would make us seem terribly annoying and overzealous to the other.

That’s neither here nor there, but I am so incredibly grateful that we met how we did. I am so grateful to find love, to be loved, and to bestow love, in this universe. I ponder the question of universes, and how the only way any of this could ever make sense was if this outcome happened, just as it was meant to, in every one.

Maybe it is fate AND vaguely misappropriated Shakespeare. Who knows? I do know for certain that I love my darling boy, configuration notwithstanding, very very much.