by Lorie Grant DeWorken

Created on: September 19, 2008   Last Updated: September 23, 2008

Soul mates absolutely exist! I know because I am fortunate enough to know mine.

Not only are my husband and I soul mates, but we are a pair of those rare breed - the high school sweethearts. Now I know it sounds like we must be crazy to be together from such a young age and to have been with so few other people. But when you meet your soul mate, wherever you are in your life, you realize that it's not that crazy after all. You find a person that makes you feel like no one else in the world ever has or ever will and you just know you won't be looking anymore.

And, let's be clear, I'm not talking about sex - although that's an awesome benefit for some soul mates! I'm talking about the relationship itself. Soul mates support each other and know each other in an intimate way that has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with who each person is and who they are together. Soul mates understand each other and just fit together in a way that's often hard to describe. Perhaps it's the ying to the yang thing. I don't know, but my soul mate is strong where I'm weak and vice versa.

We didn't get to that point right away though (so I don't know how I feel about love at first sight!). Instead, our relationship developed in a way that was like no other I'd had in my young life to that point or since. It actually crept up on me. To begin with, I thought that I had experienced love at first sight for my husband's high school buddy. It was him that I was after and after months of mutual interest and pursuit, when the guy proved too chicken to actually ask me out, I had already made a close friend of my future husband.

Our relationship eventually grew from friendship to love and it was such a natural transition. He made me feel so comfortable and confident with him and, more importantly, with myself. It really was like we knew each other and understood each other in a way no one else could.

The best part about it? We still do. My husband and I are great friends, best friends (with those awesome benefits!). We share just about everything with each other - good, bad and even indifferent. We've been know to battle royale pretty good, too, but we always come back to each other. Anyone that you can be that close with - male or female - is capable of being your soul mate, extra benefits not required. In my opinion and experience, these types of people are hard to come by. So grab on to them when you find them!

Is there just one soul mate in life for each of us? I don't know the answer to that one. But I do know that if you have one, then one is all you'll ever need.

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