The One, The Only. . . Soulmate

How many times have we heard this before? Q: "How Will I Know He/She is the One?" A: "You Just Know." It sounds so simple. But my overanalytical ass will up and miss out on that shit. I often wonder if I will find love with someone I already know and love as just a friend right now. For some reason, though, I can't imagine it. I really think I, and they, would have to become slightly different people, because as we are right now, I'm not feelin it. Thus, this leaves the task on someone I have not met yet. My plan has been to date my future husband for at the VERY LEAST 2 years (preferably 3 or 4), then have about a 9-month engagement. Seeing as the original plan didn't work out (meeting this guy in college, being married at 24, kids by 26), we will VERY likely have kids in the first 2 years (as I will undoubtedly be old by then). I recently took a (pretty short) poll of my two older, married coworkers. I asked, "How long did you know your husband before you all got married?" Both of these women are in their 40s, with 20something-year-old kids. They are making it, and they seem happy. That is a lot to say for such a divorce-clad society we live in. One woman said she and her husband dated for a couple of months, then got engaged, married 6 months later. My other coworker worked with her husban for a year, only knowing each other through business phone conversations. They finally met; he lived in Denver, she in Houston. A month after meeting she transfers to Denver, a few months later they are marred. The same goes for another coworker's parents.... met, married in the next 6 months, if not the same season! They are still married. And my parents.. met at a summer party in July '78... eloped in October. But of course, I don't know the whole story.. but I think they were bored one night and just decided to road trip and get married. Happily Divorced. Last but not least, another coworker, aged 23. She went out with some guy for a year or so, had a bad break up. She decides to pack up and move to the West Coast. A few months later she is dating a new guy when the ex comes for a weekend visit. Sometime over the weekend, they decide to see a justice of peace and get married. Now they have a 5-month old ADORABLE child. For some reason, it sounds okay for the old folks to do this. But her story just sounds CRAZY. I hope it works out, but you kinda go "I wouldn't be surpised if..." But why oh why are there so many Baby Boomer stories like this? Did this many people so easily find their soul mates? I guess "Crazy In Love" had a much more serious meaning back then... Now-a-days, Crazy in Love means ya'll are probably having all kinds of sex and drama. Honestly, I don't know what's wrong with our generation. I can say that we have been affected by being the products of "50% divorce rate" parents. Our women are way more independent. Our men, perhaps more passive. Let's not even touch on different cultural factors... The story is still out on if our generation will "find love." I think the world has taught us NOT to trust, and this will surface in our (future) marriage rate. Maybe many of us have already met our soul mates, and if we lived in 1975, we would have fallen in love and married them. However, because we are in 2005, instead we choose to question/distrust our futures with them, hold out for "something better," or are just too busty to worry about the soul mate at all. We Will Never Know.. Until We "Just Know."