Day 2: Stevenson, Washington to Boise, Idaho

Weight of the World
Originally uploaded by Skyler Hughes

Woke up this morning and thought “I am unemployed.” It was a strange feeling after 21 years in the biotech/pharma industry working long hours, travelling about 3 out of every 4 weeks, but as I heard the rain against the window, looked out the back door at the Columbia River only feet away, it was nice not to HAVE to follow a schedule. Once on the road towards Boise I immediately reverted to my type A personality and thought of all the things I needed to do – write a press release, going over menus for upcoming functions, etc, etc. but my 3 year Shih Tzu had different ideas. She just wanted to stay curled up in my lap and have her bonding time. Letting go of always doing something is hard, it is like breaking any habit, but I just accepted I didn’t HAVE to do anything at that point and it was nice to just sit and see the incredible scenery as we drove. It always amazes me that you can be in heavily forested areas in Washington and Oregon and then within a few miles you are in High Desert, which is truly beautiful in its own stark way. The purples on the hills, mixing with the oranges from the rock, blended with the blue greens of sage and tumbleweed. It was just so nice to sit and be still enough to notice all these things that have always been there but which I was often way too busy to even notice. That is one of the driving forces in our change of career and lifestyle – we want to slow down enough to enjoy our relationship, our family and friends, and little treats.
We ended our day in Boise by having dinner with an old friend and work colleague, JoAn – it was fun to reconnect after about six years and catch up and recall old stories and friends. I LOVE stories – they are a gift to hear, share, and pass on down to the next generation. Even the ones we roll our eyes at because we heard about 100 times I think secretly we still love them!! It has been a good day and both Gaby (3 year old Shih Tzu) and Two Face (16 year old Calico cat) did very well today.