Bye, I Love You

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to one of my guy friends. I've worked with him at my 2 last jobs. We were catching up--he was telling me about the vacation he just took with his wife and kids, I made him laugh with my dating stories. As we said our goodbyes he said, "Bye, I love you." I laughed as I hung up. I knew exactly what he had done. He did that "I love you" at the end of a call because he's been doing it for 20+ years. He called me back and told me how embarrassed he was. I told him not to worry. I relayed a more frightening story back to him. I was spending the night with a guy that was not an I love you situation. As I started to drift to sleep I remember talking. The next morning I woke up in horror thinking I may have babbled some love shit out of routine. I asked the guy if I said anything and he said no. He also looked at me like I was a freak. It makes me think about all the "Love you, Bye" going on. I've heard friends do it, co-workers do it...I've done it. Do we really think about the words we are saying? It reminds me of the son of a guy Sulie dated years ago. The first time she met Trey (he was 4) was over the phone. When he ended the call he said, "I love you." He also told my sister he loved her in person and he told me he loved me the first time he met me. I wonder when we learn what those words really mean. To Trey it was a way to say good-bye. As he got to know Sulie through the years I know he truly loved her, but that first "I love you" = "Night, talk to you later."

Reminds me of a topic for a future post...Saying "I love you" for the first time.