For only the 18th time in the last 70 years, we endured a sunless stretch of at least 9 days (this one topped out at 10). I was never so happy to see a blue patch of sky appear as it did around noon on Saturday.
And thankfully the sun was not too far behind. It only stuck around for about an hour before it started hiding behind the clouds again, but oh what a wonderful hour that was!
It reminded me of that dreadful Ray Bradbury story (All Summer in a Day) that has traumatized me since I first read it in middle school. Children living on Venus endure constant rain. The sun is only visible for one hour every seven years.
Only one child (Margot) in the story remembers sunshine from her days on earth. The other kids don’t believe her and they lock her in a closet. When the sun comes out that day, they leave their underground colony to bask in it, but Margot gets left behind in the closet and misses it.
I think of that story every time we have a stretch of days with no sunshine. And when the sun does finally appear I always try to get outside to feel its warmth on my face.