Yes is such a better word than no.

Three little letters that open doors and smiles and eyes and ears.

A sweet sound that draws you up and out and helps you find the tips of your fingers at the end of your arms like a joyful jump into the sky.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes I say yes to yes because all the best things that have come to me have come to me after I’ve said it. Kisses and kids and you.

A dog that whines when the ball is trapped under the credenza.

A house that is full of noise from kids who get up too early when I want to sleep late with you.

Afternoons of ice cream and Boston floats just because it’s hot and a boy with big blue eyes says, “I’m bored.”

An apartment in NY that seemed too small for one, but was big enough for us both.

Yes, even when my mouth is lying, it sits better in my heart which opens just a little bit when I hear it. Like that one time you asked me if I wanted to drive up to Fort Bragg and I said Yes when I really felt No and we discovered a traveling family circus out on the bluff and watched trapeze artists catch each other in the glowing tent under the big silver moon.

Yes, I love you with all my everything, even the parts you think no one can. Even the parts that make me angry because I’m thinking about myself when they knock on the door and ask for help and I don’t stop to look up and really look at what you are asking for.

Just yes in every way.