Today marks the birthday of my favorite person ever: My Belovedest spouse, collaborator, and partner-in-all-things Sandra Damiana Swan. We met 17 years ago this month, and our lives since then have been better than they'd ever been before.

Books, concerts, festivals, dancing, gardening, politics, the studio we established 16 years ago, the home we share with our nephew and cats - Sandi and I take each other, and everything we share, to the next level. I could not be who I am today without her.