saying 'i love you'

[mpathak]

ok, so this is random, but i was just thinking about it...
my husband and i tell each other that we love each other constantly...this is a norm in my family too.
however, my husband's family, and in many other indian families i know of, the people love each other very much, but no one will come out and say it.
has anyone else noticed this?
the really strange thing though is that my inlaws will tell me that they love me and i tell them the same, yet those sentiments aren't expressed between them and my husband, but i know there's much more love even there between them. does this make sense? maybe this is just our family...or maybe an indian cultural thing. i dunno...just pondering.

[Djvjain]

Hmm, I don't know...my husband's family says it a lot to each other and to us.  And my husband and I say it constantly, to the point where if we hang up the phone without saying it one of us will assume the other is upset about something!   So maybe it's just your husband's family.  My own family doesn't say it a whole lot either.

[LinZi]

Hmm.. I think (atleast from my experiences) that in a VERY general sense Indian families tend to show their love through doing things, especially feeding people (EAT BETI EAT!), rather than saying it all the time... I think families are more physically affectionate in India (I see adult kids lean on their parents when watching tv, for example).

And, of course, it is also different for every family...

[gorirani]

My boyfriends family does not say I love you much! I actually asked him and he said the reason why is because they show their love at all times so they dont always have to keep saying it to one another! We always say I love you everyday!!!

[KarenL]

I have observed this with my husband's family as well. He and I say "I love you" all the time to each other, but when it comes to his family...they don't say it at all; however, like someone else mentioned earlier...they show their love all the time. I was actually surprised at how "touchy/feely" people were over there given the taboo of couples kissing or holding hands. When I was in India and met some of my husband's family for the first time, it was pretty typical for the women to hold hands. It was a little strange for me at first, and then I felt honored that they included me in such things. I held hands with my oldest sister in law, with my nieces and other women in the family and it was all good. Same thing goes for the men. I would notice guys holding hands and in general being very "touchy/feely" with other family/close friends, so they just show their love in a different way than in just words.