Happy Togetho

It’s great to be happy.

In the six week hiatus since the last post I have jetted off to America, had an incredible three weeks with my family, struggled through a round of goodbyes that was no less than devastating, and emerged on the other side with one great, big, silly grin.  Why?  Because the day after I arrived back in Vietnam a present landed on my doorstep…JD.

JD!

For those of you who don’t know, which is most likely none of you since 90 percent of my readers are my mom, JD is a boy – and not just any boy, my wonderful, fantastic, incredible boyfriend.  Really, he’s terrific.  And he’s come all the way from South Africa to don his conical hat and live the chopstick life of the Vietnamese…with me [cue marching bands and festive floats]!  Having him here can only be described as…GREAT!

After five months of long-distancing, being back in the same hemisphere is truly a treat.  Instead of Skype conversations that freeze half way through, we can just turn around and talk.  Instead of seeing pictures on Facebook we can just open our eyes.  Instead of e-mails, we can write sticky notes to leave on the fridge.   He is actually here.

Just missed the mark somehow…

The Kodak moment’s gone…but who cares?

Suddenly there is a whole new level to life in Vietnam; a whole new set of adventures to be had.  I have a partner in crime, someone to cozy up to when the sunset is just oh-so-romantic, and an alibi if (and when) necessary.  Already I laugh an average of 38% more than I did before he arrived.  Recent polls show my silly faces are up 19 points and I am 24.7 times more likely to spontaneously giggle like a total girl.  Amazing what a boy can do.

On his way to Vietnam JD and his traveling partner, our friend, Kiernan, stopped in Thailand to have a quiet (cough, cough) New Years Eve.  By the time he left a hefty suitcase of Thai souvenirs had joined the gang.   Naturally I was only interested in the ones for me.  I frolicked my way through new earrings, purses, t-shirts and even two bottles of wine (welcome back, Old Friend).  But there was one gift that seemed especially suiting.  JD, quickly realizing that South-East Asia is a study in Randomness, managed to find a sleep mask, complete with two large cartoon dogs and a misspelling – my favorite combination of things.  I now go to sleep each night with the words “Happy Togetho” proudly displayed across my face.  It sums up this moment.

 I’m We are in a land of Strangeness, where the Weird collides with Funny, Interesting and Confusing on a daily basis.  But we are both in this hot seat of madness.  So, in the absence of anything more eloquent, this is a moment of being happy togetho.