Show Me The Love... Or Not

The Wall Street Journal:

Chuck Ford tells his wife often how much he loves her. He likes to hold hands when they walk, cuddle when they watch TV and hug - a lot.

His wife has learned to like it. "I don't like to sit on the couch and cuddle for two hours," says Judy Ford, a 66-year-old retired high-school counselor from Carmel, Ind.

Of all the ways that opposites attract, the thorniest may be when emotionally giving types pair up with types who are emotionally reserved.

Read the whole story

Comments

[couer]

09:22 AM on 02/22/2012

Opposites may attract but similars will endure.

[Nasirah10]

11:18 PM on 02/21/2012

Pointless article

[Roseberry]

10:37 PM on 02/21/2012

There's a book called the Five Love Languages. It's a great way to get more into this topic. Once you read it with your partner, you'll understand how you feel loved and how he/she feels loved. The five are: words of affirmation, physical touch (demonstrativeness, as the man needed in this story), acts of service (like the giving mentioned in this story on the woman's part), quality time, and receiving gifts. Everybody out there prefers one of these a bit more than the others -- it's what makes them feel loved. Ironically, we often give what we want, assuming our partner will feel as good about it as we do. But their preferred way of feeling loved is usually something else!

[kindcruelty]

08:46 PM on 02/21/2012

Eh, my husband and I both go through phases of being really *giving* and needing to be given to and being reserved. Is that normal or am I supposed to pick one to be all the time? lol

[hrbk2004]

05:23 PM on 02/21/2012

I was the anxious one in past relationships. It is habit I am fully aware of doing and I don't particularly like it. Thinking back, I've been attracted to the avoidant type all of my life! It's time to change the pattern. :)

[tazmodious]

04:40 PM on 02/21/2012

"She reminded him that she had been raised in a German-American household that wasn't "huggy-kissy." She told him she prefers to show love through actions—making a nice home, planning vacations, setting up get-togethers with his family. "I was raised in a very bonded family that showed their love by spending time together," she says."

Holy cow, that is me in every way! Need to send this to my ex, the anxious one.

[jf12]

03:15 PM on 02/21/2012

These aren't opposites, just different levels.