Soul Mates

People often say they are looking for their soul mates. Sometimes they find them, often they do not. I did. My husband and I met over twenty-five years ago, presumably for the first time. In fact, we had met on a previous occasion but had not realized it. As children, we had seen each other but never exchanged names during a parade in my hometown. Years later he said he remembered a dark-haired girl(me) sitting on the sidewalk with her blond friend. Was it a coincidence or fate? – we don’t know. We have found many connections over the years that seemed like a bit of fate as well.

Our grandfathers worked together on the railroad and my grandmother used to visit his grandmother and great aunt in a neighbouring community. We were born a day apart in separate hospitals, grew up in different communities about twenty kilometres apart, and went to separate schools and churches. In a small region, you may be acquainted with some of the same people and meet without knowing it. This happened to us. We were introduced to each other at a basketball game that he was playing in and I was watching. Two years later he came into the store where I worked, and after many visits; he asked me to go on a date. I remembered him from the basketball game so I went out with him. Two years later we were married. And twenty-five years later we have three children and are still together.

In some ways we are very similar; we are both born under the sign of Libra – the scales. This means you are always trying to balance your life. We also have a hard time making decisions, we try to keep the peace and we trust people more than we sometimes should. In other ways we are quite different; I am more socialable and like to be around groups of people. He would rather do things on his own or with only one person. I am more practical and like to organize things. He is more idealistic and spontaneous. I believe this makes us balance each other well. Of course, sometimes it makes us disagree as well. This is how good relationships
work – cooperation and negotiation.

My husband is my best friend. I can tell him anything. I trust him with my inner most thoughts. We enjoy being together, whether it is going for walks, cooking dinner together or reading our books side by side. When we are separated for more than a day, we feel disconnected. Thankfully this has rarely happened. He often says he does not know how people have long distance relationships. It does not work with us. There is a connection that makes us need to remain physically close. We often talk on the phone when he is at work. I feel detached when we are apart.

Of course, I can still do my job and continue normally without him – I just feel more complete when we are together. I feel we are a part of each other and have given a piece of our spirit to the other for safe keeping. I believe you are with your soul mate until death and beyond. This month, we will celebrate our twenty-fifth anniversary - it seems that we were married only yesterday.

“The best is yet to be.” ~ Robert Browning