Portland (Oregon) is on the verge of setting a record – rainiest December since 1996 (the year EVERYBODY here remembers as The Willamette Valley Flood of ’96). In fact, this December it has rained for 19 days in a row – until today. Today the rain stayed away and the sun came out in all its freakin’ glory. This is what happened:

1. Dogs willingly went outside to pee.
2. People stood still on sidewalks, eyes closed, faces turned up to the sun and hummed.
3. One guy dug out his summer sunglasses and told them how much he had missed them.
4. Fair-weather cyclists dried off their bicycles and went for short rides.
5. All-weather cyclists went for long rides – for fun, not just because they had to get to work.
6. Hawks perched atop trees, soaking up heat and drying their feathers.
7. People experiencing homelessness stopped shivering long enough to air out their sleeping gear.
8. Kids batted tennis balls around on the soggy park tennis courts.
9. Cats plastered themselves to the sunny spots by the windows.
10. And people smiled – A LOT.

It was pretty cool to see people out and about on this cool, crisp, beautiful winter day. But the rains are returning for the next few days, weeks, months…so, get used to it. Welcome to Portland.