Okay. As if I were to be wistful about Hawaii, Portland decided on this, my very first full day back, to raise the ante. You want sunshine? Check. Warmth? Check. Beauty? There’s Mt. Hood showing off in the distance – that familiar beacon of delight. I’m forever astounded that this mountain is even real. It always seems to be a painted masterpiece backdrop to modern life.
So for sure Oregon pulled out all the stops. As if. I’m a dedicated Oregonian. It may not have been love at first sight – winter 1978 – ice sheets against my sister and brother-in-law’s house in the frozen city of Troutdale. But my return in the summer of ’79 sold me on the place, and once I declared citizenship in December of that year, there’s been no looking back. Rain and all, I love it here.
We’re all home and accounted for now – all of us. It’s so funny and sad how you plan a vacation for days on end. Then it comes and goes like an express train leaving you with the wind from its rapid passing. You’re left wondering where it all went.
I’m glad to have had the treasures of Hawaii ingrained in me while at the same time appreciating where my home is. I wouldn’t trade Oregon. It’s where I’ve transplanted my roots. I will always adore Maui especially. Yet I know that the real treasure is where your heart is. And Oregon is it for me. Always.
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