Small Acts Of Love Couples Do For Each Other That Will Positively Make You Swoon

We collectively swoon at grand gestures professing die- hard love, from proposing in front of the Eiffel Tower to a flash mob birthday surprise. Though the grandeur of such gestures leave nothing out of one’s dreams, yet these awe-inspiring acts leave little room for day-to-day intimacy with one’s partner. And hence, small acts of love are something craved by all, they are hardly noticeable gestures that could easily pass up as just another daily chore but in fact hold limitless meaning in a relationship.

These small acts signify how partners think of each other in their daily lives, and it’s not only that but also about observing the little things. And walking along the lines of these small acts, New York Times recently asked their readers for small acts of love they partake in and here are a few responses that left us feeling awfully single-

My girlfriend and I both love to read on vacation. Once, on a camping trip, I finished my book early. She was halfway through a hefty novel and ripped out the first hundred pages to give to me. This tradition of giving each other “leaflets” has allowed us to share our favorite books, and the trips we read them on, that much more closely.

-Laura Birnbaum, Washington, D.C.

Today, every day, and on Valentine’s Day, I will visit my wife of 56 years. We are separated by her dementia. I will tell her what’s been going on outside, as I spoon-feed her in her care-home hospital bed. She says, “Thank you,” when I tell her I love her. We both know she would say more, if only she could. We have had a great life together, ever since the second grade. She is slowly leaving, I know that. But we’re a pair until then.

-Gene Lock, Sacramento, California

Until we met, my husband thought tucking someone in at bedtime meant pushing the covers under them so they resembled a mummy. More than seven years after I corrected this notion, he still gently tucks the blanket under the edges of my body every night.

-Lara Wagner, Atlanta

When my partner travels for work, we each write daily notes in a small journal that we share with one another when he returns. It’s just little things about the day that we’d have said out loud if we were together.

-Brook Ewing Minner, Brooksville, Maine

My boyfriend and I make a point to brush our teeth together just before bed. We’re currently long distance, but getting on FaceTime to do something as mundane as brushing our teeth has made us feel connected, even while we’re apart.

-Grace Mierl, Houston

My husband does the grocery shopping, and he frequently buys me a funny card while he’s there. The more obscure, the better. Like, “Congrats on your retirement!” (We’re both 34.) Or, “Have a blessed baptism!” (We’re not religious.) I always feel a little brighter after receiving them.

-Abby Goldsmith, St. Louis, Mo.

My wife and I try to be playful. An arm fell off of our daughter’s doll, and we started hiding it for each other to find around the house. Sometimes it’s hidden for months. We don’t acknowledge that we’ve found it, we just hide it again. It’s slightly unnerving to find a small severed arm in your sweater drawer when the weather turns cool, but it always makes us smile.

-Matt Moody, Cold Spring, N.Y.

I have half a banana for breakfast, and my husband always carves a heart on the cut end.

-Jill Black, Kalispell, Mont.

I have an Alexa reminder set at 6:30 p.m. every day that says: “Time to hug your wife.” When we’re both home, we give each other a good hug. When we’re not together, I text: “I’m hugging you.”

-Lawrence Marsh, Boulder, Colo.

My partner and I manage our relationship between two different cities. Every time I fly to him, I fold a small origami paper crane. (Sometimes I forget origami paper and have to get creative with the pages of the in-flight magazine.) He has kept every single one, as a reminder that we’re never more than a short flight away.

-Rhiannon Mabberley, Vancouver, B.C.

My husband often saves part of a cookie or treat, from work or an event, and wraps it in a napkin so I can try it. It’s usually smooshed and unappetizing by the time it gets home, but I love that he thinks I will like it!

-Cindy Yang, Orinda, Calif.

My husband brings me a box of fruity Tic Tacs when he stocks the house with groceries most every weekend. They are my favorite, and I smile every time I find them on the kitchen table. When I thank him, he says, “I was thinking of you.”

-Heidi Busse, Bloomington, Minn

I hate the sound of liquids being stirred or shaken. So whenever my husband stirs or shakes something, he shouts, “La la la la!” to protect my sensitive ears. (I’ve actually learned to manage my aversion, but I don’t tell him, because I think his off-tune singing is adorable.)

-Emily Strahler, Bethlehem, N.H.

Six years ago my husband gifted me a most unromantic appliance: a cordless vacuum. He did, however, offer it with an operator. He uses it every day, and I love him for it!

-Kim Carlson, Friday Harbor, Wash.

For about a decade, all my wife has wanted for Christmas was for me to get a colonoscopy. This year, she got what she asked for. Now that’s love.

-Doug Raboy, New York City

When someone you love thinks about you in every little, meagre aspect of their routine, life seems like a smooth sailing voyage and we can’t wait to embark upon it!