Do you call it "making love," or do you use some other term?

What are your associations with the term, “making love?” Do you have an alternative non-derogatory, non-demeaning term for it? [I’m sure I’ll get all kinds of silliness here, and that’s ok, but I am hoping for serious answers, too.]

This comes up because CAK thinks the word is cheesy, but doesn’t have an alternative. It made me wonder if other people have similar associations with the term, and, in general, what people associate with the term.

For me, it denotes the attitude one has when making love. It is literally the physical expression of love. It’s not just fun, and it’s not violence, it is about putting something good into the world. I suppose that could be cheesy and saccharine, and maybe I get a little feeling of “ugh” when I say it, but I don’t know any other term for it.

It makes me think of being alone together, off in a clearing in a woods, nature all to yourself, and you become a part of it, freely, no worries, just completely and utterly with each other. That’s an ideal, romantic image of course, but that’s what I associate with the term. You?