2024-02-23 04:03:15
Tucking a note into a lunchbox. Scraping an icy windshield. Grabbing a favorite snack at the convenience store.
What small acts of love do you perform for and receive from those you care about, whether that’s a friend, a parent, a sibling or even a pet?
“Sometimes love needs a grand gesture: a bouquet of roses or a big night out,” Melonyce McAfee and Catherine Pearson write in “100 Small Acts of Love.” “But strong relationships also need regular care and attention.”
Ms. McAfee and Ms. Pearson invited New York Times readers to share the small ways they show affection to the people they love. Here were some of the many answers they received:
We live in a house from the 1800s with a poor heating system. In the evening, my husband fills a hot water bottle and puts it at the foot of our bed so when I get in, the sheets are toasty warm. — Emily Franklin, Boston
For more than 21 years, my husband has given me the last bite of his dessert, always. — Jennifer Grissom, Los Angeles
I am a teacher in a public school. My husband is retired. Every morning at 6:50, he takes my work and lunch bags out to the car. Then he warms up the car and pulls it out of the garage for me. — Lori Bricks, Princeton, N.J.
We say, “I love you” every time one of us leaves the house. It seems small, but after almost 17 years of marriage, I would feel like I had left my keys behind if I hadn’t said it. — Kate Reymann, Salt Lake City
My husband has successfully learned my hunger cues. He will insist on making me a grilled cheese or egg-and-cheese sandwich, even when I halfheartedly say, “No, you don’t have to.” Basically, cheese is the way to my heart. — Megan Margino Marchese, Setauket, NY
My husband is Filipino, and I am not, so I learned to cook pancit, a noodle dish his mother made. It makes him happy. We cut vegetables, chop meat, then assemble the dish, always refining our understanding of it. It’s like love — it gets better every time. — Muffie Alejandro, Los Angeles
My precious husband, to whom I was married for 46 glorious years, passed away six years ago. But not a day has gone by since when I haven’t blown a kiss to the photograph of him that I keep on my bedroom table. — Karen Strauss, New Rochelle, NY
He does the chores I dislike: taking out the trash, catching bugs, making last-minute grocery store trips. I know they aren’t his favorite things to do, but he does them for me. — Anna Tosone Innis, Tampa, Fla.
My husband of almost 33 years buys me books he thinks I’ll like. Whenever he gives them to me, he says, “I got you flowers.” — Kris Dinnison, Spokane, Wash.
I have half a banana for breakfast, and my husband always carves a heart on the cut end. — Jill Black, Kalispell, Mont.
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Natalie Proulx
#Small #Ways #Show #Love #Care
