Great piece, Nathan!
Coming from a South-Asian background, I can relate 💯%. I grew up in India so I didn’t miss those three words since that was the prevailing culture.
Now that I live in America I occasionally tell my grownup daughters and grandkids that I love them.
My husband and I have been married for over thirty years. We express our affection for each other in our actions.
It would be amazing to have both the actions and the words. But if I had to pick one, it would be the former.