#215 When it’s sunny and raining at the same time

Neil Pasricha

Mother Nature likes to mess.

Honestly, when she gets crazy it’s time to watch out, everybody. Swirling oceans, spinning winds, icy rain drops — you never know what she’s got cooking in the atmosphere. One of her off-the-menu specials is definitely a fresh batch of clear blue skies with rain at the same time. Yes, these rare sun showery gems are great for three big reasons:

1. Petunia Heaven. Since flowers need water and sunlight to live the sun shower is the best of both worlds. Have you ever taken a nap while eating? Or breathed while going to the bathroom? Then you know the beauty of the 2 for 1 Life Thing special.

2. High rainbow probability. Not including ones on Lucky Charms boxes or trippy Internet videos, I’ve seen maybe five or ten high quality rainbows in my life. Tops! Yes, I am in serious Rainbow Deficit, people. So naturally I’m always on the lookout for my pal Curvy Roy G. and when I spot him I just admire the view.

3. Freshen Up Your Life. Mentos may be the freshmaker but sun showers are a close second. They sprinkle down when you’re sweating buckets on sticky days and last just long enough to give you a welcome rinse. The universe sees your pit stains and wants to help.

Yes, seeing sun showers is like being on a pricey Hollywood set where somebody in production pressed the rain button before a big scene but forgot to press the cloud button, too.

But their mistake is our enjoyment.

Three cheers for sun showers today.

Hip hip, hooray!

Hip hip, hooray!

Hip hip,

AWESOME!

Read the first 20 pages of The Book of (Even More) Awesome

Photos from: here and here

127 thoughts to “#215 When it’s sunny and raining at the same time”

  3. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the smell of rain
    & it somehow smells even better when the sun is out too. :)

  5. Sun showers are my favourite natural phenomenon! When I feel one coming, I make an excuse to walk somewhere just so that I can get “caught” in the rain. When it pours down in buckets, I’m singing, getting soaked to the bone, hair plastered to my forehead, walking with joy in my step. It’s the only time when others see you out there in the rain yet not feel concerned or sorry for you; rather they feel envious or inspired to do the same. It is Life-Affirming Awesome!

    1. I love this!! And I do the same!! I hate it when I’m stuck at work during a good sun shower :(

  6. Sun, rain and breeze is nature’s most beautiful gift. And writing beautifully about it is yours. Thank you for inspiring the first smile of my day for the Nth time. Love your blog.

  8. Pingback: #215 When it’s sunny and raining at the same time (via 1000 Awesome Things) « Sheepless in Rhode Island

      1. The med student must share his loo,
        So breathing is something he can’t do,
        The smells cause a groan,
        Why can’t he just go alone,
        Who wants someone else there while you poo?

  11. Oh I just LOVE this post! Everything about it screams awesome. And not just because it has ‘awesome’ in caps with an exclamation mark. But alas, today for us here Down Under, we had no showers, but showers. Actually, scratch that. It was bucketing all day. Even the inside of our schools’ PAC had puddles on the carpet from leaks in the windows. No sun. None. Nada. Zilch.

        1. Yeah – but it’s poo-brown like mine!!

          I’m always really jealous of everyone who has colorful ones – like Mary who’s up there flaunting her lime green one.. while we’ve been relegated to the junk pile of the avatar bin.. :)

          Brown-square pride!

          1. Brown! Woot woot! I am brown, right? Or is that a little too reddish to be part of the poo-brown club? =p

          2. Oh gosh, you’re right. But at least yours is a cool pattern. I don’t even have that :/ Are our avatars the same for every page? And Mary, damn you and your beautiful bright lime green :)

            1. you know what, it’s only now that I realise that I have the same old dark green avatar for every comment I make!
              you really do learn something every day!

              1. that’s it, I’m using my other email address now & got a pretty pink/purple one!
                yay for colourfullness! :D

              2. thats it!
                I’m now going to use my other email address & now I have a pretty pink/purple avatar!
                yay for colourful-ness! :D

                1. Here’s the square that shows up whenever I use my new work email, but I’ve grown quite fond of my green square. I decided a long time ago that I was going to keep it even though this one is prettier.

                  1. Wow…that messed everything up. Even changed my name and my link, I didn’t notice until after I hit the post comment button… anyway… that’s my other square even though its under a different name and link….

                    1. Yup – same avatar every time.. and I don’t want anyone to change their e-mail addresses now that I’ve grown accustom to them.. so Bekah – please stay as the beautiful green square that you are.. I would be confused if you became that aqua snow flake.. :)

                      And yes, JT – you can join in the poop-brown square club.. though yours is a touch reddish.. :)

                    2. I would like to join Freddo in requesting that you stay your familiar green square. Change is bad.

                    3. Me changing my square would be like me changing my hairdo. Its not gonna happen.

                      Yeah, sometimes when the comments are long, I’ll scroll through really quick just looking at the squares and stopping to read when I see a square I know.

                    4. These are the squares I know, I know, these are the squares I know.
                      Some of them are poo-brown, but most of them are not.

                    7. Lara – unfortunately it’s not about what’s prettier – it’s about doing what’s right.. and what’s right here is staying with ol’ reliable.. that light green square of yours..

                      Just know if you switch to that pretty blue one, Bekah is going to skip all your comments. :)

                      Btw: Good KitH reference, jdurley!

                    9. Yes, Lara, you must keep your light green square. I don’t think its boring, though. I like your square….and its much better than those poop brown squares anyway. ;-)

  13. In Zimbabwe we used to call it a Monkey’s Wedding when there was a sun shower, and in Japan it’s called a Foxes’ Wedding. I guess nature’s tricksters love this weather too.

  14. This is one of the best things about a little island in the Caribbean called Grenada. The air is filled with the smell of fresh spices. Swimming in waterfalls. Pouring rain while the sun shines…Awesome!

  15. You really are in deficit of rainbows. “Mother” makes them here often, even striking double arcs from one valley to the other, we call this a 2-4-1. Yesterday a big, bright beautiful, Mr. ROY.G.BIV payed us a visit too!
    “Red, orange, yellow, green and blue, indigo and violet too, I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow too and this ones for you!”

          2. Thank you for saving “us” the embarrassment Freddo.
            Now if you could just reload the you tube recycled pooh telecast…it’s most entertaining and informative?!?
            *oh, this is Gary/aka wallybenn7*

      2. I’ve only ever seen a double rainbow once, but it was so pretty, I had trouble looking away…

        …A very dangerous thing, seeing as I was driving at the time.

        And that video was awesome. :) “That is the maddest f—ing rainbow I’ve ever seen!”

  16. Love this! One of my best memories: I was at my dad’s company picnic at a park with a lake. I wanted to go out on a paddleboat, but nobody wanted to go with me so went by myself. I went out far enough that I could barely hear the noise of the swimmers. And then it started to rain. I looked up and the sun was shining brightly, turning the rain into a wash of sparkles. I looked down and there were glittering plip, plops all around me. I just sat there and smiled and savored the moment. And then, just as quickly as it started, it was over. So I paddled back to shore.

  17. Yes! Sunshowers! :D I love ’em, but on a recent trip to Edinburgh, it was a bit different because rather than simply being sunny and raining at the same time, every afternoon was more like a tug-of-war between sunshine and a hurricane/hail/rainstorm/etc. I think I prefer the light, happy version we get in California sometimes rather than the UK’s unbelievable weather.

    1. ooohhh it makes me so sad that I have to say we barely ever have the happy shower version ..! Here in the Netherlands we get the angry UK version BUT whenever this small miracle happens.. the always stressed Dutch actually stand still and look up to the sky and SMILE :D! <– which makes it even more awesome than it already was :D

  18. Aw, yeah, I love sun showers! But I’m going to tell you a little story about one of the other 2-fers mentioned: taking a nap while eating.
    Our honeymoon flight was early the morning after our wedding, so we had been up all night after the LONG day of festivities. Seated in the bulkhead row, we opened our lap tray tables for the airline breakfast. After a minute of noshing, I glanced lovingly at my new husband beside me. Elbow resting on the tray, he had lifted the roll to his mouth…and then fallen asleep. Napping while eating. AWESOME!!

        1. Absolutely knew I had a keeper! No photo, though – this was way back in the 90’s, before digital photography created our weird fixation with capturing every single moment that happens to us on film. Photos were reserved for deserving subjects – like DOUBLE RAINBOWS.

  20. Go to Niagara Falls when you want to see a rainbow..whenever the sun is out, the rainbow is there…
    I saw almost a 360 degree (almost a full circle, may be 270 degree0 rainbow when I was there and I thot I went to heaven :)

    1. I dunno, I think you’re kinda reaching a bit there…
      The list is supposed to be “bathroom-related awesome things” (with the notable inclusion of any post with a photo of an actual toilet.).
      I guess this one does have the word “bathroom” and touches on the subject of showers…
      Oh, OKay, but this is the weakest tick in the list. Def should not be in all-caps. Should be in, like, 4-point font.

      1. “breathed while going to the bathroom”
        Come on! I bet Neil was IN the bathroom when he wrote that.
        This definitely belongs on the list. Wasn’t the impetus behind it to prove that Neil is always thinking about the bathroom? Kinda like Freddo is always thinking about STDs?

          1. You’ve got about 200 or so more posts to come up with something even more ridiculous to make us forget the other thing…

      2. Ohh, so the tick has to do with a tally for that list? I’m still trying to catch on to these things…

        1. Yup – A *tick* is a way to indicate that we’ve added another tally to the list of “bathroom-related posts”. For a while there about 2 years ago, every other post Neil did was related to the bathroom in some way, so we needed to start keep track.

          As you can tell, jdurley is the bathroom-post-*tick*-monitoring-Nazi, and she gets to set the rules as to what officially counts as a *tick* or not.. We just follow along, as she keeps the master list.. :)

  22. I had a really crappy day at work once, and my boss sent me outside to see the rainbow. I stood out there in the middle of a sunshower for almost 10 minutes. :) It remains to this day one of the most AWESOME work experiences of my life.

    1. Your boss is (or was, as the case may be) AWESOME.

      Also awesome: that you only had a really crappy day at work ONCE. ;)

  23. We’ve been getting a lot of rain where I am these past few days and the sky is looking ominous again. I wish the sun would come out whether it’s raining or not.

  24. We just had a huge sunshower here…complete with wall-rattling thunder. Alas, no rainbows, though.

  26. Years ago we fostered some children through the day care. On a sunny/rainy day, we celebrated a child’s 4th. b’day at the beach park. This became his happy thought. When it was time for them to return home, we bought him a crystal; told him to hang it in a window and remember good times and good thoughts. He was thrilled, looked empowered and held the crystal tightly. While driving them home a rainbow appeared in the sky, as if that wasn’t awesome enough he shouted, “Look what I made!”

      1. Oh, I hope you gathered there was a rainbow at the boys beach party, since I neglected to make that point, as well as this: I’d been given a crystal from my daughter’s, which was hung on the rear view mirror in the car so that when the sun filtered through rainbows were everywhere… even on faces at times, which made everyone smile and laugh a lot!
        *I just had another memory~ I was 3 and at Sunday school. We were given a picture of Jesus with His arms, a lap full of children and more at His feet. They were in a meadow of wild flowers, under a rainbow and we were taught the song “Jesus loves me this I know…” carrying this with me, has many times saved my life.
        Thank you for reminding us to stay authentic and true; for all the sunshine, lolli-pops; stir of the memories- “Tears and Pain” songs and rainbows Neil Pasricha.

  28. Dear 1,000 awesome things,

    We really don’t get it. Mybe people who like rainbows will get it but can you make it so people who don’t like rainbows get it

  30. So I’ve been wanting to post a comment here for some time, but it seems like such a tight group of internet buddies, that I felt like I was intruding! But this post….this is the one that made me just have to say something as it just happened to me!
    I was outside with my 2 year old daughter only 2 days ago, we were tending my garden together. I dead-headed flowers and well, she more like “live-headed” them, as she likes to pluck them while they are still in full bloom ;0). Anyway, the sun was fully out, but I could smell that rain smell coming, and then it started, big wet plops from the sky, all while the sun remained. It was very hot out, so I let my daughter stay outside with me. She was beaming from ear to ear, saying “Mommy! Mommy! So pretty! There is rain and sun! It feels good Mommy! It feels good! Maybe now rainbows, right Mommy?” She was absolutely enamored by this natural phenomena. And the fact that at 2, yes 2 years old!, she knew that a rainbow was likely to occur, just floored me. It was one of those magical moments that I will remember the rest of my life. The day my daughter and I played out in the rain and sunshine.
    I just love this blog….it makes me smile everyday. And now, I can not only have my beautiful memory for the rest of my life, but I can remember how I smiled about it days later because I read how someone put my exact thoughts into words on the internet.
    Awesome.

    1. Aw, that’s such a sweet story! Your daughter sounds adorable…and smart!
      Please comment any time! We’re a free and welcoming society here!

      1. This story made my heart melt.. Super cute story.

        It’s stories like that that make me super excited about having kids! (Please don’t report back with stories of all the sleepless nights or dirty diapers, or I might change my mind.. :))

        Definitely comment all the time! You can fill us in with more stories about your daughter, and her comments on awesome things!

        1. Thanks for the welcome jdurley and don’t worry Freddo….I only save those special stories for a select few unlucky souls.

      1. Beth, in the poem, “Children Learn What They Live”, by Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D., you’ll see this experience ranks high on eternal strengthening of your souls.
        Thanks for sharing your precious moments; Love them~ and sure like your flag~ it’s very spiritual!

  31. This one really connects with me… …just when I think you’ve run out of good ones you come out with one like that that hits a pile of memories deep inside me— Awesome!

  32. Hello everyone! :)

    I’ve been reading this blog going on close to 2 years and this is my first comment!!

    Just wanted to say thanks to Neil for bringing the small things we take for granted to light for all of us to enjoy! And thanks to all of you commenters! I always look forward to reading what you have to say and reading your stories!!!!

    Within 30 minutes of reading today’s awesome thing, I was sitting outside with the sun shining proudly, and it began to rain! Beautiful!

    I was talking to my dad who lives no more than 5 minutes north of me, and it was black and miserable with torrential downpour that I could hear over the phone!

    It’s AWESOME how mother nature works!

  33. 5 or 10 decent rainbows in your life is a deficit? I remember being 11 and utterly refusing to believe rainbows actually existed! Because I had never seen one on anything but cartoons and kids shows, I was sure it ranked up there with such things as the Easter Bunny and Santa Clause…

    1. I find it funny, that I haven’t been in a sun shower for at least a few years, and then yesterday (Saturday) and today I get caught in two!

      Oh 1000 awesome things, please continue to predict my future

  34. It is about the coolest thing ever. I love the lighting during the sunshowers, too. :)

  35. We’ve had a lot of this in the GTA in the last few days, haven’t we? Even today it was off-and-on in the city, but here in Durham I hear there was almost nothing.

  37. The devil is beating his wife!

    …please tell me I’m not the only one who uses this expression when #215 happens…

  39. Whenever it’s raining, I go out and run down the street, laughing like a madman the whole way. My neighbors look at me like I’m crazy, but I know they’re just jealous.

  42. I mentioned this on Awesome thing #220 (sandals in the sun), but it seems relevant here, too. I live in Hawai’i, so the whole sunny/rainy at the same time happens quite frequently. It’s almost become customary to see it. As I move back to the mainland, I’ll have to remember these times because I’m sure it’ll happen a whole lot less on the mainland.

    With Love and Gratitude,

    Jeremiah

  43. Can you believe it is already June 25? 5 months until Christmas (if you are into such things)! Mom sent me your Tedx Toronto talk to brighten my day. Thank you!

  44. I’m always on the lookout for rainbows whenever its sunny and rainy. I love looking at rainbows. The last one I saw was a double rainbow and I didn’t even notice until I showed someone else the picture I took of it.
    I even have a calendar that has scenic pictures of rainbows. Its so pretty. This month is a rainbow over a farm and next month is a rainbow at the beach.

  45. That’s exactly what happened last night. It was magnificent!! And so was the full double rainbow.

  46. A few years ago I went on a cross country trip across Ireland and we saw 8 rainbows in 4 days!! It was one of the most awesome experiences I’ve ever had :)

  49. OMG OMG OMG GUYS! Guess what! It happened! Today! Well, granted, it wasn’t very sunny and I didn’t even realise it had rained, but I saw a double rainbow :D And even though they say you can never reach the end of the rainbow, I still thought I might because I was driving in the exact direction of the rainbow end but then it moved :( But yay I thought of this post as soon as I saw it! Yippee!

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