Something to Celebrate
by Heather Wickersham
Oregon City, OR
Two and a half years ago we made the quantum leap to Oregon after living on Maui for twelve years. My husband and I dated, married, forged careers, bought our first home and had our first child while living on the island of Maui. When we arrived in Oregon, we did not have jobs and only brought our clothes and a few belongings. The past two and a half years have been consumed with finding new jobs and raising our daughter who had her fourth birthday on April ninth.
It seemed like our time on Maui was a series of celebrations, and it seems like our time in Oregon has been a huge lesson in personal growth. However, I believe the start celebrations began to blossom this spring. First of all, it is difficult to ignore the fact that spring really awakens the soul. I can’t help but have my spirits lifted at the site of daffodils everywhere. A reason for celebration came this past weekend with our first hike with our daughter.
When my husband and I first met, we used to go hiking all the time, and we spent many weekends on backcountry hikes. After we had our daughter, the hiking came to a stop. We have spent the past four years talking about where we will go and what hikes we will do when Katie is old enough. The time is finally here. One of the biggest reasons we left Maui was to take advantage of the Great Northwest, and we finally went on a short hike with Katie leading the way. We were so surprised to find the short hike at Camassia park in West Linn. We started the hike around the loop trail and Katie decided she wanted to be the leader. It hike its self is only about a ¼ mile, but she went around the loop twice. She skipped and hopped the whole way chattering about what a good hiker she is. I loved watching her hop along down the trail. The moment had finally come. Here we were in the woods with Katie and she was enjoying herself and having a great time. We finally had a “first” something in Oregon and finally had something to celebrate!
