Terms of Endearment

There are two phrases in my vocabulary that I use when I call the people I am closest to. One phrase starts the conversation, the other ends it. Although one of them is not really a term of endearment, they both show a special bond. You have to know someone pretty well to start a telephone call off with "Hi, it's me". Years ago, Seinfeld had an episode devoted to this greeting. He wondered how close you have to be to someone to just say "it's me". No other identification needed. I went down my mental list of how many people I could do this to. The list was not very long. Today, I called my daughter-in-law, and said it. It felt good. Like one more person was added to the fold. The other phrase is when I say "I Love You" at the end of a telephone conversation. I started doing this many years ago, each time I ended a phone call with my family. It was more of a superstition because I felt that if anything ever happened to one of them, the last words I would have said were "I love you". It was comforting, in a weird way. It caught on, and now every conversation ends that way. It is almost an automatic response. On the rare occasion that I forget to say it, I will be reminded. My only problem is that sometimes when I am in work, I almost say it to my boss. If it ever slips out, I will have to quit my job!