4 years.

We did this funny thing four years ago and got married in a beat-up church in Harlem with an exalted choir and a 10-year old drummer boy. Now we live in Harlem in an exalted (according to us), beat-up house. It's worked out pretty well for us.

I've said before Xavier is like a weather system - this year we've had pretty good weather - a long day at the beach, in fact. Part of it is that I've finally broken through some of the cultural differences between us - made some real progress. Xavier's bluntness. His tendency to say "no", flat-out - "you look bad in that" - "I'm bored" (more precisely-->"you're boring me"), those kinds of things I used to take really personally. I don't anymore. I laugh.

Plus, he makes me laugh all the time - sincerely. At this exact moment, as an illustration, he is lying on the bed, inexplicably reading Tom Sawyer aloud with a heavy French accent: "Eets mighy ard to make eem work Satuurdays when all ze boys are aveeng oleedays, but e ates work more zan e ates anyzing else." When I realize what is going on, I laugh until my laptop is almost shaken off my lap.

Here is to more good weather. The forecast looks good.