Earlier this week, Jess pointed out that, while it was beautiful and sunny outside, it was less so in our apartment, because the windows were so filthy the light was barely filtering through.

Indeed, living above a busy New York avenue, our windows are constantly buffeted by exhaust and city smog. And though I always think the regular rainstorms should be sufficient to wipe that away, they usually just kind of smear the dirt around into impressionistic streaks instead.

Still, like with the proverbial boiled frog, it’s also sort of impossible to track the slow accumulation of window-covering layers as they’re happening. So, until Jess pointed it out, I hadn’t really noticed at all. Whereas, since she did, I’ve pretty much entirely stopped seeing through the windows, and have just been looking at the sooty windows themselves instead.

Fortunately, one of the handymen in the building clean windows. So, next week, he’ll be coming through to wipe them spotless. And, for at least a couple of days, we’ll be able to see NYC in technicolor clarity. After which, the dirt will again start building up, and we’ll be on a long slide back to exactly where we started.