Express Your Love

My loved ones know that I love them. How could they not? I feel
love for them all the time. But even if the love you feel is obvious
to you, your family still needs to hear it. We often assume that people,
especially those who are close to us, know what we are thinking and
feeling and that therefore we don’t need to keep affi rming our love
and affection. The truth is that doubts spring up, even if they are not
rational, and that all family members are reassured when you share your
feelings of love for them.
TONYA GREW UP in a big family, sharing a home with brothers, sisters,
and cousins. But she says she never doubted her place in it. “Every day,
my mother said she loved me. Every single day,” Tonya says. It was a
very powerful lesson. “There were a lot of mouths to feed, and times
that we struggled. But you never felt unwanted, or overlooked, because
there was always a hug coming, always a smile.”
Tonya says the joy of family life is something she’s made a central
part of her parenting. “People always look forward to going places, doing
exciting things,” she says. “When I go places, I look forward to getting
back home. When I see my girls, I’m like a fl ower in bloom.” She says a
happy, healthy family “is all I could wish for” and that showing her family
her love for them is her “reason for being here.”
She admits that being a mother takes a lot of effort and dedication:
“Your job is never done. But it’s the best job in the world.”
People are 47 percent more likely to feel close to a family member who
frequently
expresses affection than to a family member who rarely expresses
affection. (Walther-Lee 1999)