How do you know???

In her most recent post, 5th muse asks:

How do you know you're where you ultimately should be? Do you feel
it?

I also have a question for the happily-coupled among you. How do you know
you're with whom you ultimately should be with? How does it feel?

Wow. Tough questions. I consider myself among the "happily-coupled" right now, but it's so new and I'm so cynical about many things, even though I am happy, that I would hardly call myself an expert in this field.

My heart has been broken many many times. I've been in love "twice" officially. I've told four guys I loved them: the first guy was back in high school and I consider that "puppy love." I don't think I really did love him, although I cared for him a great deal, but I didn't know that until I met my university boyfriend. We were really truly in love. How did I know? It just felt right. We both knew that what we felt for each othe was more than simply "like." It was quick too - we met and started dating in September, and by November, we said it. We had a lot of fun together and he was the first person I had sex with and so we had a lot of fun discovering things with each other. I wouldn't have my first be any other person.

It was my longest relationship - one year and ten months and when we broke up, I thought that part of my heart died. It was then that I learned what true heartache is. There were nights I woke up with chest pain and tears running down my cheeks; somewhere deep inside, I was grieving, even when I wasn't awake. He was one of the first guys who really knew me. To this day, I think that although I've changed a great deal since we dated (it was after all, about 8 years ago!!) I know that if we were to meet up again it would be good - I'm over the heartache and it's like seeing an old friend. We're not in touch anymore - he's in Vancouver, and the last time I saw him was at Walmart on PEI two Christmases ago and he doesn't respond to email, but that's okay. I hope he is good and I wish him well no matter what he does.