Relationship Milestone: The first 'I love you'

Sometimes, people just know!

We met online. Both have been married before, both hurt bad, and both were waiting out an online membership with zero plans to renew LOL

We talked/texed for a few weeks before our first date. About 6 weeks in, I introduced him to my daughters. Some people might think that's too soon, but we had been a little team since my 1st husband (their dad) passed away, so if they didn't at least like him enough to try to get to know eachother, we wouldn't work in the long run. We picked a Sunday and the 4 of us went to the zoo - neutral territory - and spent the day together. Then we went to a little diner and had dinner. I am the "we don't need dessert all the time" parent or the "ok, but we're all going to split 1 piece" parent...he is a "why not, YOLO" parent )not literally, but, sort of LOL. Anyway, he let them choose whatever slice of cake or pie they wanted from the case and then we ran around the park to burn it off. This was the end of September.

In October, he always hosts a huge Halloween party, and with his job, he is gone 5 days a week, so he asked me if I would help him prepare for it. There were stressful things, and rushed things, and met his parents and sister during the course of all of it. One night the kids and I were at his house and it got late, so instead of leaving, he asked how they would feel about spending the night? He has grown children and, then, a tiny grandson, so he had a guest room. They both wanted to stay, so he got all the things they would need and helped me tuck them in. His care and compassion, the way he laughed off the things that get under my skin and kept a level head even when they were fighting (like siblings do) or acting up, it was beautiful. The next day, they both HUGGED HIM - their own choice, never forced.

I was the one that said it first. It was the weekend after the girls had spent the night at his house with us. The weekend after they seemed to accept him as part of our team, and after he showed me that he wasn't just faking interest in the 2 most important people in my world.

I chose to say it, and it really did catch him off guard. I told him I did not need him to say it back, but I wanted him to know how I feel and why. It wasn't until a couple weeks later that he said it to me - on purpose, and after great consideration of the weight those words hold.

Aw, this made me tear up while reading!

I've definitely found my equal and my perfect-for-me partner in crime

So, I'm part Filipino (on my mom's side). My boyfriend and I were still newly dating, can't remember how far along we were in the relationship. The Filipino thing is important because before I told my boyfriend (now fiance 'I love you'), I learned how to say 'I love you' in Tagalog (a dialect of Filipino). It's Mahal Kita. Pretty simple.

I was sitting with him in my parents basement and I told him randomly, 'Mahal Kita.' He's like, 'What does that mean?" I told him, 'Think about the context and it'll make sense.' He then proceeded to tickle me, to get me to say what it really meant in English. I eventually told him and he admitted that he knew that's what I meant, but wanted to tease me about it. Now, we say Mahal Kita to each other all the time.

February last year, I found a book of how to say 'I love you' in different languages. Of all the Filipino dialects, and there's a lot, the Tagalog version of 'I love you' is definitely in the easiest.