Even in a post about happiness, there’s no getting around it: 2020 has been a difficult, if not heartbreaking, year for many people. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives during an unprecedented pandemic. The presidential election pitted Americans against one another and tested the limits of our increasingly fragile democracy. Communities across the country erupted in anger and grief over police killings of Black and brown people.

There were also beautiful, bright moments that sustained us through the darkest times. The Washington community banded together in unprecedented ways to fight the pandemic. Frontline workers risked their own health to keep the rest of us healthy, safe and fed. Neighbors helped neighbors, strangers helped strangers, and you probably adopted a dog.

Let’s give these moments of joy their due. Without further ado, here are some of our happiest moments of 2020.

January: A Month That Happened

We want to be very honest with you: We remember very little about January. Turns out, it did actually happen. Time passed and things occurred, including Virginia Democrat Eileen Filler-Corn’s swearing in as the first woman and first Jewish Speaker of the House of Delegates in the legislature’s 400-year history.

We also spent a lot of time in January pleasantly debating the best Metro seat, thanks to a meme out of New York.

February: Go-Go Goes Official

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser signed legislation in February that made go-go the official music of the District. It marked more than just a symbolic win: The bill required the mayor’s office to implement programs to support and archive go-go music and its history. The celebratory bill-signing also highlighted the collective strength of D.C.’s go-go musicians, fans and anti-gentrification activists. #DontMuteDC, people.

Meanwhile, the reigning World Series champs smashed cabbages at spring training.

March: Nice Man Rides Pretty Horse

Just as the pandemic hit Washington, a hero arrived. On March 10, RaShaod Crosson, 29, mounted his horse Ellie at RFK Stadium and galloped around town, leaving many residents giddily wondering what the heck was going on. A former D.C. Public Schools student and a veteran, Crosson grew up in Southwest and now co-owns a horseback-riding farm in Brandywine, Md. “There are a lot of children who have never seen a horse in person,” he told DCist.

Soon after, lockdown orders went into effect and Washingtonians began inventing new ways to stay connected. These Mt. Pleasant neighbors hosted stoop sing-a-longs and socially distant scavenger hunts to keep each other smiling.

April: Nature Wins, For Once

Remember all those stories about how global carbon emissions dropped dramatically due to travel restrictions? The local environment benefitted, too. The absence of spring tourists gave the National Mall’s notoriously troubled grass a moment to do its thing, and frankly it’s never looked better. The turf grew long and luscious, JVN-style.

Then, after a month-long hiatus in marriage license processing caused by you-know-what, D.C.’s Superior Court started approving applications again. Judges and clerks began learning how to do virtual weddings to keep up with the increased demand.

May: Art With A Message

The protests against police brutality that began at the end of May following the police killing of George Floyd inspired a lasting racial justice movement that swept across America. Artists came to play a key role in the protests, especially here in D.C. By early June the fence surrounding the White House was covered in protest art. Go-go bands showed up on open-top buses to energize crowds. Music by local artists like OnRaé LaTeal of Arlington (above) provided a soundtrack with a social justice bent.

Throughout the pandemic, artists have demonstrated their resilience and creativity. Street artists kept painting murals, singers kept writing songs and actors kept performing, albeit in new ways.

June: Statehood And Snapping Turtles

June 26 marked a historic day for the District: The House passed a D.C. statehood bill for the first time in either chamber of Congress’s history. Though the bill wouldn’t go on to become a law this year, the vote helped garner national attention for D.C.’s decades-long fight for representation (and spawned a WAMU podcast, 51st).

Meanwhile, ours jaws collectively dropped after looking at pictures of the 65-pound alligator snapping turtle found wandering through Alexandria. Lord Fairfax, as he came to be known, was handed over to the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk to live out his Earth days in peace before returning to the Underworld from whence he came.

July: Washington’s Football Team Does One Good Thing

In June the football franchise announced it would retire its name, a racial slur for Native Americans. The decision came in the midst of a broader national conversation about racial inequality in the United States and pressure from corporate sponsors. Twitter commenters and graphic designers started coming up with logo design and name ideas like the Washington Redhawks, Redtails and Redwolves (we’re sensing a theme here…).

Baseball returned later in the month, and the Nationals tapped Dr. Anthony Fauci to throw out the first pitch of the abbreviated season. In related news, Fauci decided not to quit his day job.

August: Pageant Queens Remind Us What Real Beauty Is

Beauty pageants aren’t just for the young. Elvera Patrick, 65, and Hadiyah Muhammad, 66, inspired us with their story of how they became pageant queens and close friends. “We don’t bash each other,” Muhammad told DCist. “I tell her what she should improve for the pageant, and she tells me. We are two queens together.” Patrick designs and sews almost every outfit for herself and Muhammad. The two love the pageant scene so much that their granddaughters and great-granddaughters now compete right alongside them. Friendship goals!

Meanwhile, first-time entrepreneurs around the region opened or grew some really cool businesses, like the plant subscription business Grounded, a company that brings an alpaca to your party, a puzzle company with diverse characters for kids, a vegan candle business launched by a 15-year-old, and a candle business that went viral after the founder’s boyfriend made an amazing hype video.

September: All The Pets Always 4ever

By this point in the year, we’d guess that nearly every Washingtonian had A) adopted a pet, B) was on a waitlist to adopt a pet, and/or C) knew at least three people with newly adopted pets. The furry new housemates provided much-needed routine and companionship amid socially isolated days. “It made quarantine less about us and our fears, and more about taking care of someone else and finding peace through that,” Kelly Granger told DCist about adopting her dog Ruthie during the pandemic. Check out some of the pets adopted by DCist and WAMU staff in the slideshow above.

September also marked the reopening of D.C.’s central public library after three years of renovations. Now it has a slide! Plus, D.C.-area parks welcomed a record number of visitors.

October: BABY PANDA BABY PANDA BABY PANDA

You might be wondering why we waited until October to post a panda picture, since the National Zoo’s baby panda was born in August. But take a quick look back at what the cub looked like when he was born and you’ll understand why we waited. It took until October for baby Xiao Qi Ji (which translates to “little miracle” in English) to finally get cute. But when he did, he sure didn’t disappoint.

In non-mammal news, the new museum Planet Word opened in D.C.’s historic Franklin School building. The long-anticipated language museum features, for one, an exhibit with a booming-voiced narrator intoning the word jorts.

November: Janky Dinosaurs Take Over RFK Stadium

A drive-through dinosaur exhibition called Jurassic Quest arrived in D.C. in November, and oh was it a sight to behold.

Visitors (and there were a lot of them, because what else can you do with your kids during a pandemic?) discovered the wonders of the prehistoric era by driving down needlessly narrow paths outlined by hundreds of traffic cones in the RFK Stadium parking lot. The exhibition featured massive, creaking animatronic dinosaurs and explanatory signs held down by garbage bags full of sand. Jurassic Quest provided just the type of silly, COVID-safe fun we needed.

Meanwhile, no big deal or anything but America elected its first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect (and Joe Biden).

December: Santa! I Know Him!

The pandemic raged on, but that didn’t mean Christmas was cancelled. Professional Kris Kringles like Tom Carroll (above) from Virginia donned face masks, protective shields, and even giant plastic bubbles to keep spreading holiday cheer. Then, Christmas elf-turned-renowned-immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci announced he had personally vaccinated Santa, everyone got all the presents they asked for and we all lived happily ever after.

Or something like that.