“I love you.”

Sometimes doesn’t sound like those words at all.

For me, “I love you” is the hardest thing to say.

When I do, it’s an empty sentence, too commonly used.

So I don’t

I fill the empty sentence with communication.

“Did you get home safely?”

“Have you eaten today?”

“The sunrise reminded me of you.”

I fill the empty sentence with inside jokes.

The kind that makes you laugh until your stomach hurts.

I fill the empty sentence with our recipes.

Trial and error attempts, sometimes inedible but always an adventure.

I fill the empty sentence with game nights.

Playing until the clock says “a.m.” and the cat stalks downstairs for her breakfast.

I fill the empty sentence with midnight drives down unknown roads.

With dripping ice cream cones in the sticky July air.

With fireflies in an old peanut butter jar.

With snowball fights and cups of cocoa after.

I fill the empty sentence with enough love that it overflows.

With enough love that I never have to say “I love you”

Because by the time I do, you already know.