Quill - I love my husband, but...
Well, meet Stogey, my dream man...er, dog. I recently read the book The Five Love Languages to find out why my husband and I are so different. The answer is that I need/give/want verbal praise (ie - you are pretty, etc...) and my husband needs/gives/wants acts of service ("When you cut the lawn, baby, I'm turned on!") which led me to delve into my undying love for my dog Stogey (see cute picture above). My dog (and maybe your pet, too) gives and likes to receive ALL FIVE love languages.
Let me break it down...
1. Verbal praise - "You are a good boy, Stogey!" and he wags his tail. I put on socks and he thinks he might get a walk, so he barks a high pitched bark and runs in circles.
2. Quality time - where I am, the dog will follow. He is always with me, always wants to be near me. When I am up late (like now) he will stand in the kitchen, stare at me and whine while wagging his tail as if to say, "Time for bed, my love."
3. Acts of Service - I take Stogey in the car almost every morning. He jealously barks at other dogs and hangs his head out the window. At twelve, he still loves a long walk. (I'm always embarrassed that when I DO attempt to run, he never pants and looks like he is only walking a little quickly.) He is still on his neverending quest to bring me the gift of a squirrel or one of our pet rats. He brings me toys to throw and never says no whenever I ask him to go anywhere with me.
4. Gifts - If I bring him a new snack or chew toy, he gets crazy excited. (He gets excited even if I launder his current toys and let him get them warm out of the dryer himself.) He gives me the gift of never talking back to me, never being mad at me, and never fighting with me.
5 Physical Touch - petting him makes him close his eyes and moan. We sleep with some part of us connected/touching all night long.
How does this boil down and relate to writing? I guess we are all looking for the perfect man in our romance novels, but are we really just modeling perfection after woman's best friend? I wonder what Stogey and I will say to each other some day in heaven (alas, he is twelve) and it might be nothing, because we both know...we just know.
Tell me about your best friend and what love languages they speak to you.
Time to write about Mr. Right...
(Ps - I DO love my husband!! haha)
