I'm in the midst of reading Peter Ford's wonderful biography on his father, Glenn, one of my favorite actors. About halfway through it, Peter, who is an email friend of mine, stated his father never said, "I love you," to his son.
Kirk Douglas has won accolades all around the world. The one thing he wanted more than anything he never received. It was a pat on the back from his father. He wrote of once being taken out for ice cream as a child by his father, and treasures that moment. To Douglas, that ice cream cone to this day means more than any award he has.
Why is it we cannot say those three words? Are we supposed to be 'tough'? Is it not manly? It can't be the latter, as there are women with the same problem. Perhaps we think they already know it. Or even more tragic . . . in many cases, the love isn't there.
My family has never been short on sharing love, so when I read the above stories, I want to reach out to those people and embrace them to let them know someone does care about them. (I come from a family of huggers.) We were taught at an early age "I love you" is not hard to say, and my sister's bunch has carried on the tradition.
My nephews are a perfect example. They're all ex-jocks who jokingly like to act like they're 'bad', but they can all say "I love you" without hesitation. They don't look around to ensure no one is watching, or whisper it under their breath. They know no one is going to snicker at them. They've been taught it's beautiful to say, not a sissy thing.
It's only three words, and if you can say it, you'll make someone's day. With all the profanities we utter daily, "I love you" shouldn't be so hard.
