And Furthermore...

This might be another Maria-ism, but when I say “I love you” to someone, a lot of the time I don't want them to say it back. I think it’s because I don’t say it for me - other than I want them to know that I love them. I want them to bask in it. To find themselves drifting in the warmth of the feeling of the words. I don't want them to feel obligated to say it back. That kind of feels weird to me. Even though it's pretty normal and people say it back all the time. To me it feels kind of opposite to the point of saying it in the first place.

Saying “I love you” should be about the love. So, sometimes I even precursor saying it by first saying "don't say anything, just feel it." So the love in “I love you” can be absorbed like sweet honey on warm buttered fresh baked bread.