I know this one of those questions that is really hard to describe the answer to, but give it a try if you feel like it! Physical, emotional..what do you feel when you are in love?

The way I love my kids..thier giggles give me butterflies in my stomach, I have to tell myself not to hug them so tight sometimes.  I watch them sleep and my chest gets tight and I feel like I could cry.  I'm so happy they are mine, and the next instant, terrified of something happening to them, and would I be able to survive that.

I've never felt this for an adult..and I know it should not be the same. 

ZAGmomma I envy you, truly I do.  I have no children only a step-daughter, who I will always see as a daughter regardless of the divorce or not.  Of course she is 14 and I have only known her for about a year but I love her as if she were my own nonetheless.  Outside of that I must admit every woman, and I still can recall all 6 of them by name and when we met, I have ever loved I still do though it is not the same kind of love I once had for them.  To be honest each one was different than the other, but it was love I know that much.

The best way I can describe the feeling is that I feel like the world has stopped time is frozen and they are the only thing I see.  Everything else fades into nothing and only they remain.  It grows and changes but that is when I know I am in love with someone.  Usually I get this moment in my life when I least expect it and it hits me like a truck doing the speed of sound.  I can feel it in every part of my body and beyond.

there are so many kinds of love, impossible to accurately describe them all. The two biggest forms of love in my life are for my Husband and for my children.

I was very young when I fell in love with my husband. We had just spent a weekend together but needed to go back to our separate living arrangements for the school week to start. We were going to see each other that next day but the thought of being without him for even a few hours that evening and overnight left me in a panic. I had such a longing to be with him, I just wanted to absorb him to keep him with me all the time. I knew at that time that I was in love with him and I told him so. I think when you love someone you feel to a certain extent, exceedingly lucky (almost to the point of being undeserving) to be with them, to have them in your life, and have your love reciprocated.

For my children... wow. Completely mind-boggling how your life changes when you become a parent and how your capacity for love grows. You think you know how it will be but when you first hold that baby, it truly blows you away. There is no clearer, more obvious and basic function than a love of a parent for a child. I look at my kids and I ache with love for them. It just pains me how much I want the best for them, for them to always be happy and comfortable. In a way it's similar to how I feel about my husband in that I just feel so lucky that they are mine. They are so beautiful and sweet I can't even stand it sometimes!!

I view love as a haven where...:

... I can go and not worry about life or expectations or being harmed.

... I can be myself without judgements.

... I can explore what I want to be.

... I feel free.

... I feel welcome to do all of this. 

 Physically love is warmth. It is a warm glow that I feel whenever I think of my loves.

Love...The truest form of love that I feel is towards my son.  Unconditional love.  The love that I feel when his big green eyes gaze into mine.  I just want to squeeze him, protect and cherish every moment with him.  The anguish I feel wwhen he is hurt evn it is a mere bee sting or hurt feelings because a child may have been mean t him at school.  I have a saying that I repeat to him every night as I tuck him in....I say Mommy loves you no matter what and always and forever.  He has asked even if I don't listen and have temper tantrums or act rude and silly?  I reiterated NO MATTER WHAT!!!

As for love with a partner I would describe it as two phases...The Falling in love Phase.  Can't eat , Can't sleep, incredible amounts of anticipation and excitement.  That constant tingling feeling. 

The In love phase. The comfort to be yourself, accepting one another's flaws and short comings, being supportive , growing together and learning from each other and of course the abilty to still get excited and long for one another.Also, Looking into your partners eyes and knowing that they love you too.

The love I have for my children consumes my every thought. My daughter is 4 months old and I still wake in the night just to check on her and make sure that this gift from God is still sleeping all cuddley and warm in her bed. My days are filled with teaching her the things. My evenings are spent listening to her laugh and play. I know what each of her different cries are for. I know what she likes to do when we play. I waited 13 years for her and she was more then worth the wait. I have a 13 y/o son who is my buddy. Until I met my husband it was just the two of us fighting like hell for each other and living the best life we could on the tiny bit we had. Even when we had no home of our own we still remained close and happy together. Top ramen never tastes better then when I eat it with him. There are so many feelings that come with this kind of love I am a weepy little woman and my love for them makes me cry at night sometimes when I think about how blessed I am to have these little angels in MY life. When I think about the pride I feel when I look at them. When I look back on the days(not to long ago) that my son still wanted to hold my hand when we would go on walks. I look at them and I melt inside. My son is the worlds best big brother and seeing him with her makes it clear to me that i did something right for them. 

My husband is my best friend and soul mate. He fills all those dark places with hope and light. My love for him gives me goose bumps, makes my heart skip beats, my palms sweat and I feel like I am a teen age girl in the back seat of a car for the first time everytime our eyes meet. When we started falling in love I felt like I was on the ride in Willy wonka and the chocolate factory in the tunnel(if you don't know the movie WATCH IT, that scene shows what falling in love feels like). He has made me want to be a better person. I have become someone that at times I don't even know, my words are kinder and so are my thoughts.

 I would have to say that for me in the best way to wrap this all up my love for them feels like being a child laying in the grass  trying to find shapes in the clouds as they pass by with the sun beaming down making you feel safe and warm all over. Giggling with a friend about the topic of the day. My insides turn into bubbles at the thought of any of them and without them I would be nothing more then anger in a body spreading hate where ever I go.

There is one spot one my husbands chest that has a smell, not a bad body oder smell but the warm snuggled up in a blanket smell. When I hurt so deeply all I can do is cry that smell makes my world perfect again. When he has to leave for his job I ache for his return and putting my head on his chest to be comforted again.

Loving and being IN LOVE are two totally different things to me, I am IN LOVE with my family. You have to put aside fears and put in work to truely be IN LOVE. IN LOVE is the little old couple still holding hands after years of waking to the same smile and being perfectly happy about it. Being IN LOVE means that even when it would be easier to walk away you put the making up into motion, you bend your lover bends and the problem is forgotten. Being IN LOVE is letting go, holding on what ever it takes to make the "hard times" not so hard. IN LOVE means waking everday knowing that there is no place on this planet that would ever be the same with out your love to share it with. Love can fade it can change, it is over spoken and abused. When I tell my husband "I love you" what I am really saying is I would marry you all over again, I will defend you even if you are wrong, I will hold you when you cry laugh or scream, you are my world, I will stand by you no matter what.

Hope I didn't confuse anyone with this post. The love I share with my husband is one that some never find due to pride, fears, or just plain bad luck. I KNOW that everyone has that one special someone IF you are willing to open your eyes, set aside fears and live every moment. I never thought I would have this love, then one day I am cleaning a room in a motel, and in walks the most wonderful man every thing I was looking for in his looks and mind. I had a HUGE crush on him, time passed we became FRIENDS then on my birthday we went on our first date and I have been unable to leave him since. Now we have a child that I was told I would never have. While our life is not perfect our love for one another is.