thought about this a a long time today while tediously doing my job and felt I needed to put my thoughts in words..    31yrs ago was the first time I had ever told anyone other than imediate family that I loved them..  She was a very lovely girl 1 yr older than I and I said it.   Three words, I LOVE YOU,  her reply was tears.   Not exactly a good sendoff into the male- female relationship cosmos.  Everything went fine with us, we dated off and on throughout high school and even after she went off to college.  After we had gone our separate ways and I was about to embark on my 1st marriage that ol flame reared her head and started a fight with my stb 1st ex wife.   Why,  I don't know, it wasn't as if she wanted me in any way.  And after all I had told her I loved her only one time.  Move forward 2.5 yrs and my young bride decided she needed more male companionship than I could offer, I came home to find her in bed with a friend, or so I thought, on my birthday.  End of marriage. no one hurt, no children  just financial loss. To this day she and I remain friends.6yrs later a cooworker and I became involved and matrimony again was in my mind  we married , were blessed with a lovely daughter and seemed to be content.  The movei GHOST  with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, ditto  was his reply when Demi told him she loved him.  That became my reply when thestb 2cnd ex told me she loved me, which was very infrequent. 4 mnths after our daughter was born she asked me to leave and explained that I did not have to care for my daughter,and to just get out of there lives. Some $6000 later child support and loathing were all I had to hold onto from my 2cnd failed marriage  I have seen my daughter a total of 36hrs in the past 6yrs, she turned 18 last December. In November of 1992 I asked my present wife out and a whirlwind romance ensued, I had never been loved this way and I had never loved this way. I told her boldly and with confidence that I loved her and no other.  thats right I Love You, she didnt cry, she didnt run away, she held me, held me closer than I had ever been held  She later moved in with me bringing her 2 sons along for the journey . We wed that July and the following Feb had our son, he was born Feb 13th the day before V-day.  I know  everyone is smart enough to figure we were pg when we married, so what we were in love we easily told each other I love you on an hourly basis.  Time changes us all, in some good ways and some bad ways,  she filed for divorce in August of last year and left in Sept.  I still love her very much and even though there have been many harsh words between us I cherish the time we spent together.  I dont know if I will ever say I Love You to another. Yet I can tell friends I luv ya and I love you without a second thought.  It seems as though the phrase I LOVE YOU is almost as common as other terms of endearment we hear frequently, for instance   S.O.B.  I've been called that lovingly many times, or you ole bastard, perhaps even you ol goat, prick asshole and the list goes on and on.   With V-day looming on the horizon and some so upset about the value that we as humans put on being in love this time of year, I have to the conclusion that I never will tell anyone that I LOVE YOU again.  I can say I love you or I luv ya  but the meaning of I LOVE YOU is going to have to be mutual b4 I ever utter the phrase again.. b4 any one gets to upset with my rantings understand this  everyone can love one and the other, but that doesnt necessarily mean they are in love with one and the other and to end in song  These Eyes have seen a lot of tears