We’re definitely fully into another glorious Willamette Valley Autumn and I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on how I get through the winters here with a smile on my face. I love the rain. I never really expected to, but I blame my love of it pretty much on my stubbornness.

As I’ve crossed the country, there’s always been a warning about weather before I go. When I decided to move from Maine to North Dakota for my undergraduate work, I was warned by a teacher who had spent a number of years in Minneapolis that although the weather was terrible there in the winters, that it was always reported to be worse in Fargo. And then when I left Fargo, I was constantly reminded that it “rains all the time in Oregon.” Luckily that statement is patently untrue. It is fairly uncommon for it to rain for an entire day without a break in the rain–either it will just stop and become overcast or it will stop and the sun will come out.

With so many people warning me about incessant rain, I kept having to tell them that I was looking forward to the rain. In fact, my mantra quickly became “when it is raining there it would be snowing here.” My last winter in Fargo was particularly brutal, featuring a spectacularly rough week of wind chills in the -50 to -70 range. I can’t imagine anyone can fault me for not enjoying that. When I moved and the rain began, I surprised myself by actually loving the rain. It is cozy. It encourages me to curl up on the couch with my knitting or a good book. And with the exception of cold water splooting up into my pant legs if I walk too quickly, I am really thankful I talked myself into loving it. Otherwise, I’d probably be pretty miserable here.