Surprisingly (to me), I have never written a post about
The Five Love Languages. How is this possible? I'm not sure except that back when I first started blogging and thought about writing about it Amie did (though I can't find it in her archives right now), so I guess I felt that covered it for me too.
Anyway, I don't remember how this book came into my life, but it must have been recommended by someone because I would never pick up a book that looked this cheesy. I ended up reading it and felt like someone had revealed one of life's great mysteries to me. Suddenly things about myself and others began to make sense. The idea is that everyone "speaks" a certain love language and that once we figure out each others' languages we can better "communicate" with each other.
The languages are:
Quality Time
Physical Touch (doesn't mean sex)
Words of Affirmation
Acts of Service
Gifts
I am definitely Gifts with Acts of Service being a close second. There is some guilt (at first) involved with finding out that Gifts is one's love language, because it seems to indicate some shallowness or greediness, but upon closer inspection it is revealed that this is not the case at all. For me it's a matter of thoughtfulness, so if someone brings me a .27 cent cup of Sonic ice that's a gift because they were thinking of me and took the time and trouble to go and wait through the line at the drive thru to get that for me. I think that's why good mail is such a big part of my life as well (both the sending and the receiving). My first thought when meeting a new person or feeling affection for someone is "what can I give them?" This is just my way.
{Click to enlarge}
recently posted about the Five Love Languages as well and how her love language is gifts too. Well it's no wonder that this is the case, because look at this super thoughtful and amazing gift she sent me for my birthday. She sewed a quilt border around a quilted frame with the word "good mail" written in the middle", then framed it and wrote a really nice note on the back of the frame. I was speechless when I received this last Saturday. Seriously. I don't know Chanel, have never met her, seen her, or talked to her. I only know her from her blog. But she definitely knows how to speak my language.
{Collette came over with my favorite ice cream
and some caramel the other night.}
People tend to "speak" their own language so if your language is something different then it can be challenging to understand other people's motivations. It is very helpful to me to know that my sister Lori's language is Quality Time. She totally doesn't feel the same way I do about little gifts and thoughtfulness, she just wants to hang out together. Randy is the only person I know who is such a mystery wrapped in a riddle that his language is unknown. The closest I can deduce is that he must be words of affirmation (which is the hardest for me to speak), but even then I'm not sure about that. Most people are pretty easy to figure out, he's an enigma though.
**What language do you speak?
Do you have this book?**
