“Actions speak louder than words” isn’t a worn cliché, it’s the truth. And when it comes to love, what people do means so much more than what they say. Whether your partner goes silent when faced with the ‘L’ word, or if he says it to you every day, the way he treats you is what really lets you know how he feels. Here are few clues to let you know if your lover is, in fact, in love with you.
When your partner starts to prioritize your thoughts, feelings and desires with the same importance he places upon his own, there’s a good chance that he’s all in. He’s more often than not checking for how you feel, if you are comfortable and what’s on your mind; this means even more coming from a guy who’s not a perpetual people pleaser. If you inspire him to act like one, he may just have love all over him.
Some people bring new dates home to meet Mom like it’s no big deal, but most of us take that step a little bit more seriously. We typically value our parents opinions highly, yet don’t want them to be so involved in our romantic lives until it counts. If you meet the most special lady in his life, she might not be the only woman he loves.
When you’re in love, your partner is very often the first person you want to speak to when something happens- be it good, bad or even trivial. He hits you up as soon as he hears about his promotion, or when he finds out that his taxes got returned for auditing and even when the vending machine gives him an extra Twix bar (which he offers to save for you). If your sweetie seeks out your advice, counsel and comfort before anyone else, it may be l-o-v-e for him.
Love makes your threshold for things you don’t necessarily enjoy a bit higher. The former Jazz-hater now wants to attend your weekly appreciation classes at the local Y? And he’s offering to take you and your mom to Wal-Mart, despite his loathing of long car rides and big stores? He wants to hear all about why Maya broke up with Thomas, despite his disinterest in gossip (and the fact that he secretly thinks Maya’s vapid and that Thomas is better off without her)? Aww. He might be trying to tell you something.
You know what else is a good sign that he loves you? He SAYS it! But it’s less about the uttering of those three words than it is about when, why and how. A post sex ‘I love you’ may be honest, but the timing makes it very easy to just say without having truly decided that it’s true. Hearing it after he’s done something that has upset you might mean that he’s just willing to say whatever it takes to keep you around. And if you say it first, he might just repeat it to prevent hurting your feelings (this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t feel comfortable saying it first, because someone has to take that courageous step eventually). But if he comes to you after carefully considering his words, that might mean something a little bit more serious than post-coital blurting out.
