Me on phone: "I love you Mom", Friend: "You say that?", Me: "You don't?"

I call my Mom to tell her I lover her. One day a friend was over at my apartment and it was getting late so I knew my Mom would be up for the morning in Amsterdam. I called her to tell her "I love you Mom".

After the Call my friend asked incredulously "You just randomly call you Mom to tell her you love her?!"
I said "You don't?!"

Since then I have learned that not many people do.





So Imagine my surprise when I saw this video.







WARNING: The video may be painful for trolls, but otherwise it is full of smiles and good feelings.

Not to be a downer but one day the people you love will be gone (or you will go first).
It's a good idea to let those you love know how you feel!

I know. It's hard to say "I love you" to parents sometimes. So many little things seem to block the way.

Aww what a nice video & beautiful idea! I don't really say it to my parents i cant remember the last time i told my mum i love her, i kind of just expect that she would know, i hope she knows anyway! My dad says it at the end of phone calls most the time so i say it back too him, this has got me thinking i probably should say it more often, i love it when my kids tell me they love me they say it alot and i say it alot too them, i hope they don't grow up and stop saying it so much! i treasure them being so little and saying it all the time and complimenting things i do for them i know all that doesn't last forever it seems to be one of them things that fizzles out with age for alot of people, although for me, me and my parents never really said it a great deal to start with really, they weren't very affectionate super loving parents though! but as a parent especially it is a wonderfull feeling and i think even as adults it should be alot more common too say it to your folks! Life is too short!

a reply to: mikegrouchy

While not 'randomly' calling to say it,my son and I end every phone call with "I'll see you later and I love you". He's 30 years old,but you never know when you might be hearing their voice for the last time. I do it with my older sister as well.

a reply to: Elton

It's a good idea to let those you love know how you feel!

Worth repeating.

Both of my wife's parents have passed. She misses them every day ... and there are so many things she wishes she had had just a little more time to chat. Her father died while we were stationed in Hawaii and she wasn't told in time to make it home for his funeral (family's can be weird like that). I opted to remain in Korea so she could be close while her mom was kickin'. For some reason that was even harder on her.

We've got a pretty good relationship with our kids, and though they are far away, we try to maintain the bonds we have through verbal expression. I don't think there's anything more important than family.

FWIW, the OP's video evoked a strong emotional response in me. I felt quite sorry for those kids.

We never said it. As in my brother and I or my parents. I recently lost my dad and it was only in those last few months that we said it. I am 37, he was 66. My mom and I have never said it either. While my dad and I did say it, had we not... I would not have doubted he loved me for a minute and I know he knew I loved him without saying it out loud.

My 16 year old daughter however, still likes a tuck in every night. I tell her every day. It's weird how it's harder to say it to those who have never felt the need to say it, than it is to say it to those you say it to all the time. I say it to my husband daily as well.

My mom and I are really close. We talk daily and see each other at least once a week. We know we love each other whether we say it or not and if something were to happen, that would be the last thing to weigh on my mind. That being said.... It would weigh on many people's minds, so it is something for those to think about.

It would be much harder to cope with the loss of a parent if you did feel the need to make it clear and did not. There is always something to regret in the end, and that is just one small thing people can get out of the way fairly easily.

Cherish your parents regardless. It's hard to lose them. They are a link to your beginning and your past that you will physically feel when they are gone. No matter how old you are, you will realize that you still needed them around. It does leave a hole.

I'm only going to say it if I mean it. And the only people I say it to are my husband and my daughter (and our beagle). I don't come from a huggy lovey family. We aren't close. And no ... I don't want to be close to them. I see my brother once every 5 - 10 years and we usually don't talk between time. Usually I talk to my mother once a month but I've gone as long as a year without speaking to her. This is who we are and we are fine with it this way. No attachments.

i call my mom when ever she pops in my mind and i miss her i take her to lunch once week every week an i always tell her i love her before i hang up or leave and i allways hug and kiss her on the cheech when i arrive or leave a place we are at together even in public i also tell my aunts uncles cousins sisters and brothers i love them any time i talk to them. it would be considered rude in my family not too.

My family has always been the hugs and kisses and saying I love you type of family and I wouldn't have it any other way.

My mom and I were really close and always said it even when we were yelling mad at each other. She died in late June and I am so glad we had that. It's hard when you realize how often a loved on pops into your mind and you have to remember that they are gone. It's amazing how many questions you have that you don't realize until all of a sudden, there is no one left to ask. Write them down, ask them all and listen!

a reply to: Night Star

Same here. Everybody knows I'm a hugger, to the point that they warn their friends before meeting me lol. It's a trait that my dad's side of my family all share. My cousins and I randomly call, text, or post "I love you" to each other all the time. However, my mom is from Thailand and hasn't always been as open with the sentimentality. Even today, if I were to call just to say I love you her first reaction would be "what's wrong" followed by "what do you want". Mind you, she's only like that with her kids, not anyone else on my dad's side.

It is so ingrained in me to tell people I love them that it has rubbed off on my hubby and his family. He and his brothers now tell each other after every phone conversation, and it's adorable. Even his sister's 14 yr old son says it to me every time he leaves our house....and they live next door to us, so some days he's in and out a dozen times!

Life is too unexpected to not let people know they're loved by you.

My mother tells the cat she loves him every day. She's said she loves me twice in 60 years. I know exactly where I stand.

I will never regret that my last words to my mother were " I love you" . a reply to: Elton

Expressing your love is free. When my mom was alive, I told her several times a day that I love her. I told my dad, too, but he never said it back. I know now that it was the way he was raised and it wasn't until my mother died, that my dad finally started telling me that he loved me. I think he was sorry he wasn't more expressive when my mom was alive...

I say I love you many times to many people. There are many kinds of love, so I don't feel I'm being disingenuous. I love my ATS "family" but of course, it's not the same as the various loves I have for my husband, my dogs, my family or friends.

Call your mom (or dad or sister) and tell them that you love them. You'll be glad you did.

originally posted by: AutumnWitch657
I will never regret that my last words to my mother were " I love you" . a reply to: Elton

Those were my last words to my father.

originally posted by: Dimithae
a reply to: mikegrouchy

While not 'randomly' calling to say it,my son and I end every phone call with "I'll see you later and I love you". He's 30 years old,but you never know when you might be hearing their voice for the last time. I do it with my older sister as well.

Yea I call my mom sometimes sometimes she calls me. we end up on the phone for hours and hours. The only way to hang up is with I love you.
I say it to my dad too, but not as much. I didn't used to, it felt weird, but now I do. It's good to express yourself to people you care about. That's with a weird childhood and not talking to my dad for years at one point. Things got better though.

Some of my more "traditional" friends don't ever say it that I have overheard anyway. I'm more of a hippy though.

I finish every phone call to my mother with 'love ya', and every time I say goodbye in person.
My bro's and sis get the same, likewise my son, and it is reciprocated between all of us, quite naturally.
I guess some folk have been brought up to repress genuine shows of affection with the people they love for whatever reason...rather sad.

*Edit*
a reply to: Spruce
Same last words to my dad as well, that gives me peace.

My mother and I don't say I love you to eachother.Never have not sure why guess we just don't feel like we need to

My boy's and I don't aways say I love you. We tend to joke around alot in a loving way. We do things for each other and when we see that one of us is down or up we ask whats up and lend an ear. It's not always peaches and cream. Sometimes I get so mad at them I want to scream. My comments when I have to scold them is always " Ya know I love ya, and I don't mean to be a bitch, but........ It works for us. We know we can depend on each other.

Now I have a friend who kids are the same age (21-24) Now this is a sad story. She divorced her husband 7 or so years ago, and her boys lived with her until about 3 years ago when the youngest one started getting into some trouble. She felt at the time that sending him to stay with his Dad for a while would be a good thing.

Well, to shorten a long story, both boys ended up going to their Dad's. For a long time everything was good and all agreed it was a good choice for the boy's to be with the father.
Then about 6 months ago, things changed drasticlly. Her boys stopped returning calls, texts, etc.. She sent them birthday cards last month and in one of the cards, she expressed her saddness and dissapointment because of the lack of communication, and suggested that maybe someone was telling them they should not be communicating with her.
Well to her surprise, she did not receive an answer from her children, but got a message from the boys father, saying, "FYI we try to encourage them to keep in contact with you"

What a sad story. I do not get to see her anymore because I have moved away from the area, but I try to call or text her a couple times a week and say to her. I love you, you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Did some research on the subject of children astranged from their mothers. It is a very common thing. Fathers too.

I'm not a thread starter, but this would be a very interesting subject to start a thread on. There is information out there. My new church even has a group that works with parents astranged from their adult children. Just a thought