the question on mates for your soul.

do you believe? in soul mates?

i used to, until recently.

in the past, i've had friendships and relationships which i thought were "meant to be". chemistry was evident, instant attraction obvious. somehow those friend/relationships expired. just like that. i know i must be thankful to have had that instant connection while it lasted.

and now, as i can say i've had some experience in those, and reflect on them, i've come to realize that most of my (lasting) friend/relationships are not so obvious, are rough around the edges and need some (sometimes a lot of) work. all the while, making them more valuable.

for example, my best friend and i, we've been friends for almost 15 years. we first met by accident and necessity, became room mates, trip mates, pen pals, best friends. we're practically family. it takes a lot of toleration on her part, actually i'm not sure why she sticks by me. if she didn't i'd have stalked her. just kidding 'dis. uhm, not really.

i wouldn't say my husband and i are soul mates, at least, not in the obvious way. i would like to think we had chemistry when we conversed eye to eye the first time, but nothing about us was instant. i'm only a little bit interested in the things he's obsessed over, although i support him (and his hobbies) with all my heart, even if it drives me nuts. he says "cool!" with a two-thumbs up and asks "what is it?" as i show him my crafting projects. he buys me shelves and storage for my crafting mess. i'm a morning person, he's a night-owl. we do have common interests, like sleep and food and our future.

all i know is that we love each other and are committed to making us work.

... may be that's the definition of soul mates.