Saying “I love you” is a big step in a relationship.
These three little words have a great meaning in our current society. Mumbling that short sentence was the start of many relationships.
But like everything, actions speak louder than words.
When you told me you loved me, it really warmed my heart. When I said I loved you, I really meant it. It wasn’t just an empty phrase to have you, I meant every single one of those words.
To love is to be kind. To love is to be understanding. To love is to be altruistic and unwavering. To love is to respect ourselves, to honor the person for whom our heartbeats. To love is to get up very early to bring him to work because his car has broken down. To love is to listen to his dreams and desires and to really want to support him.
To love is to go to a museum that you might not be interested in, but your partner really likes, and you would do anything to get a smile on their face.
But instead, for you loving it was sleeping while I walked the dark streets to catch the bus. Loving was lying in your bed looking at your phone while I told you about my deepest dreams and desires. To love for you was to let me go to the museum alone, or not at all because you never did anything unless it was your idea or your desire.
You might have said “I love you” but you didn’t mean it.
If you respected me as much as you said “I love you,” you would have woken up early to make sure I got to work safely. Instead of calling me a cab every time I needed to be picked up after work, you would have been the first person to make the trip. When I expressed my deepest desires and dreams for the future to you, you should have taken them to heart, as I did with all of yours.
When we feel that we love a person, we tend to have higher demands. We may expect more from them, but we also let them go further.
If my closest friend had spoken to me like this, I would have said something. If my best man had told me he would pick me up from work and then canceled because he was too lazy, I would have known something was going on. I would have felt this because I know our friendship, our love, and the bond we have. Best friends are there for each other, plain and simple.
But for some reason, romantic love can sometimes cloud our vision. Even though I could expect more from you, I let you go further.
When you said you were too tired to help me clean the house, I let you sleep. The strings in my heart were drawn because I wanted to do things that made you happy because my love was returned with respect. I did things for you and I sacrificed things that I wanted because I cared about your feelings.
I wanted you to come home after a hard day’s work and be relaxed. I wanted you to spend time with your friends so that you could relax. I was trying to cook you a nice dinner because making you happy made me happy. I respected you and your wishes.
I don’t think you were doing all of this on purpose, but I think you have a lot to learn before you try to love another person.
I’m definitely not perfect, no one is, but I know I respected you, if only if you could have done the same.
