I want like to talk about something near and dear to my heart: Love Languages.

Love Languages come from the popular book The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman and are described as how we receive love from others, focusing on the little things that make your heart and soul sing. It’s a topic my friends and I talk about often via text, and over time, I’ve started to become more curious about the love languages of others.

Don’t know your love language? Find out here. 

I am part of several spouses’ groups (some military, some civilian), and a recurring “love language” for most of the women in the groups are overindulgence a.k.a being spoiled with awfully expensive gifts. It ranges from jewelry to handbags to clothing. I understand some people may love the finer things, but is it the only way to show genuine love? Most of us enjoy shiny new things, sometimes even expensive things, simply because they are new and luxurious. I’ve always wondered why someone would say expensive gifts were part of their love language.

Personally, I don’t need my husband to drop money on shiny things for him to show me he loves me or appreciates me. To me, it’s about paying attention to the small details that make the heart sing.

For example, a love language action is how I apply my husband’s personal love language. For my husband, it is cooking his favorite foods, watching his favorite movie, or playing his favorite board game. It’s the little things that make him happy and show him that I love and care for him.

As for me, after some hard thinking, it’s when he makes me a cup of coffee in the morning, enjoys the food I cook, or watches comedy movies and stand-ups all day. Another small detail I love that he notices is when he will (at random) buy me seeds to plant for my garden this spring or buy me a yarn ball for my projects.

Spending quality time with me or our kids is an example of a love language. Him paying attention to those small details shows me how much he loves me in vice versa.

Love languages are not just specified to romantic partners. They can easily apply to friendships and your family members. Showing someone how much you genuinely care for them without having to buy everything in the world is the best was to appeal to someone’s love language.

Small gestures say a lot more than you think. It can be as little as spending quality time watching a movie, getting coffees, working out together, or sitting in the sun enjoying the fresh air (when it finally warms up). Even genuine conversations with close friends is a small way you can speak to a love language.

I want to learn all the love languages of my close friends and family so I can show them how much I love and care for them by doing something that makes them genuinely happy. The ways you can learn and appeal to someone’s love language are infinite! All it takes is a little time and effort.

If you liked this post, check out Army Strong, Marriage Style and Five Ways to Keep Your Marriage Army Strong. 

Interested in The Five Love Languages? Check out their military edition here.