When did love become a dirty word? I may not say it within earshot of his same age friends due to the macho image most boys try to project. But if stangers or even his mom hears, who cares? If they put some dirty conotation on me spending time with the boy, then refraining from saying I love you is not going to change their minds. And if they aren't thinking perverted thoughts, a sincere I love you shouldn't take their minds in that direction. In my experiences, when I told my YFs I loved them, they often didn't say it back, which was fine with me. Sometimes they did, and sometimes they said it first, but not often. But I didn't say it to get the warm fuzzies in return. I said it because it was important to me to let him know verbally, even though he already knew. It was like a verbal hug, and I think they need that from time to time.

Dakota