This started as a joke 3 years ago with a friend as we tried to describe our soulmates. (a bit of a longer story there, but that is the basic premise for the "elusive squirrel"). I, about the same time, had jotted down my thoughts on this....here they are: First some comments from profiles/etc. that might express some thought concerning this:

• What I want in a relationship is someone who values me, someone that makes me feel wanted. Someone that would welcome me returning those feelings. (OKC)
• I want to know passion. I want to feel accepted for who I really am, not the facade I present to the world. (OKC)
• Looking for "the one". She won't be just one of the many that have caught my eye, she'll also be "the one" that catches my heart. You see, to me, the opposite of love is not hate, its indifference. So, I won't be satisfied with a friend that I can say that I love. I'm looking for "the one" that I can be "in love" with every moment of every single day with the kind of passion that makes her: "the one" I want to call from work just to say "I am thinking about you", "the one" I can't wait to get home from work to just be with, "the one" that still makes me feel like a starry-eyed 16 year-old every time I look in her eyes, "the one" that I can hold while watching TV, give a piggy-back ride to on the beach, have a food fight with while we are cooking, slow dance with in the rain, or have a pillow fight with then fall asleep with her in my arms, "the one" that I will still think is the sexiest girl in the world even when she is wearing sweats and no makeup, "the one" that I can say "I love you" to and mean it so much my eyes water, and "the one" that I will still want to walk through the mall holding hands with long after we have grown old together. (match.com)

OK…This is not as easy as I thought, but here it goes: Things I want in a soul mate: my elusive squirrel. (and, this pretty much goes both ways…I want to be this to him as well….remember the “heart” – he will have all of me) NOTE:This list is not necessarily in any particular order…just how it came out of my head. :D. I might add to this list as things pop in my head, but it is a good place to start.

• A Friend: I want someone I can share my thoughts, feelings, ideas, joys, fears, etc. with and know that first and foremost they are safe and respected. That if they are not agreed with that they are at least heard and acknowledged as valid. That when we disagree that we can do so with love and understanding. Do I think there will be this euphoric feeling all the time, that we will never disagree or fight? No, but I would like to think we can do it without judgmentalism. That we can just agree to disagree. I want someone I can laugh with and cry with; someone who makes me feel loved and secure; someone who I can have fun with whether we are sitting alone on the couch watching TV or out dancing the night away. That I can feel completely comfortable with in complete silence. Someone who is at least looking for similar things out of life that I am. That can be flexible enough to want to explore new things together or be willing to try something that the other is interested in even if it is not something that they generally like.
• Priorities: That he has goals and priorities in life and that I am one of them (excluding God, I would like to be at the top of that list….or at least have him make me feel like I am.)
• A Lover: Passion and Intimacy…need I say more.
• Security: Someone I can feel safe with…that I know who will protect me (even if it is from myself – again, lovingly and with judgment in that case) Someone who will take care of me and my children.
• Comfortable: someone I can be completely comfortable with in any setting or situation
• enerals: I would like him to be intelligent; confident (cocky), yet not arrogant; sense of humor – even able to laugh at himself; goal oriented – but not to any extreme; balanced; steady; willing and able to ride this “roller coaster ride of life” with me; someone, again, who will love ME, the real me and not try to “Fix” me. Just accept me.
• And… /deep sigh/ TBD….????? Still thinking.

There ya have it...the squirrel in a nutshell...no pun intended...lol