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When I met my husband in 1998 I had no idea I had met my soul mate. I always thought I believed in love at first sight, although it had never happened to me. Instead I found over several months that I grew to love this person in a way I had never loved anyone before.

When he proposed under the Northern Lights on the shores of Lake Waskesiu in Saskatchewan I was speechless. For once my lack of words scared him and he had to ask the question again. I answered through tears of joy and with a shaking hand allowed him to slide the most exquisite diamond ring on my finger. We immediately planned to move in together and even picked out a rental townhouse.

At twenty three years old I felt all grown up, engaged and moving in with a man. I assume that most young women experience the same nesting instinct when it comes to making a house a home. We do things like buy curtains, prints for the walls, welcome mats. We buy houseplants, probably because our mothers had them, and because we want to give our homes that same loving touch that our mothers did. We start planning meals instead of catching whatever is fast on the way home from work, and because now someone else is also relying on us to think that far ahead.

I suppose it is a rite of passage to move in with someone in a romantic sense. I had lived with roommates previously, we did things like label our leftovers in the fridge so as to protect them from someone with the midnight munchies. We also had designated days and times to use the washer and dryer, as well as a list of who was to take out the trash and when. Of course, when we were upset with one another we had a roommate "meeting". All grievances were aired and in a very business-like manner we were able to get back on track. The bills were precisely divided out and each person's portion was written on the dry erase board near the telephone.

Moving in with a significant other is a complete lifestyle change. Some do still maintain the very business-like order of living together. They still divide out the bills, take turns taking out the trash, and are responsible for their own laundry. Others, like us, assume the more traditional roles. I took on the laundry, housework, meals, and bills. My husband, then fiancee took on the tasks of taking out the trash, keeping the garage tidy, and other general maintenance type jobs.

We are probably the most practical couple you have ever met. For our first Valentines Day together my husband gave me the gift of a car wash- hand washed

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