God bless - such pure joy to read about your relationship and family. The picture is wonderful. May you both grow in love.

You are absolutely right. I'd like to believe that we can almost always distinguish love from infatuation, or a motive driven relationship - true love will always be full of giving, the excessive need to be compassionate, to be empathetic, to selflessly do something to make your partner smile, and there is immense joy and satisfaction in the knowledge that they are okay, that they are happy. A relationship where true love doesn't exist can be all kinds of ugly. There will be fights based on difference of opinions and conflicts of interest - your own begins to matter more to you than your partner's happiness. You selfishly demand - their loyalty, their time, their care - and you use their vulnerability to hurt them when they do the same. This is when you feel insecure, knowing somewhere inside that you're not doing right by them. Love however, is never selfish. It is the most profound and enlightening experience, and it makes you the complete opposite of petty and fickle. It makes you give more than you ever rendered yourself capable of giving.

I just realized how lucky I am to have found someone who loves me just the way you described above - reading your post immediately reminded me of them. X