It is so much better with two

I don't know quite where to begin. If you blog about happiness, are you tempting fate? Issuing an invitation for misery? Screw it. My heart is too full to care right now.

At this moment, Tom and I are watching the Yankees vs. Cleveland game (live on North American Sports Network) with stomachs full of kick-ass burritos from The Taco Shop -- shops in Amsterdam, Copenhagen and on the Pacific Coast Highway -- where there is a surfing sticker from Cannon Beach on the door. Perfect chili verde and refried beans that made me do a dance of glee. It is raining outside but still warm and I actually had a strange sense of being at Black Butte when I went upstairs to change into dry clothes when we got home. This is what made my heart full -- to feel like I am home and also at home -- both at the same time.

And this follows a perfect Sunday. We met friends at Amstelpark after biking to the center and buying me my first tennis racket in 20 years. We brought gloves and a softball, rackets and new tennis balls, along with a few bottles of wine, and rode out of town and along the river to such a lovely spot. Alison and Snapper had friends over from England who have two great kids, so everyone lounged around and played catch or tennis or generally goofed around for many hours. The look of surprise on Tom's face after I warmed up my throwing arm and managed a few good catches and fast turnarounds back to him was beautiful. It is great to have a reason to use my glove again. I have missed playing catch and was happy to realize that the skills I carved out during the softball season of 2004 didn't disappear. The tennis was fun as well and I can not wait to start playing Tom regularly. I think I could take him...my own little Bobby Riggs.

Life with Tommy is fantastic. As much as I learned to love life in Amsterdam on my own over the course of the year, it is that much better with him here. It is so easy to be together and there isn't any drama about it. It is just good! We laugh and talk and kiss all the time, with breaks for reading and music and games of catch. It is better with two, no matter how fiercely independent a pioneer woman I claim to be.