My Mountain

I live in Oregon, just outside of Portland. One of my favorite things to see in Oregon is Mt. Hood. From the first time I saw it on my first trip to Oregon in 1979, I loved it. It rises out of what appears to be flat lands on Interstate 5. It’s off to the east of I-5. You will be driving down the road in the middle of open fields and off to the east you’ll spy this magnificent mountain peak. It is snow-capped most of the year (elevation 11,240+ feet). It has been a sort of “touch stone” for me. When I’m out of town and I’m coming home, I get my first glimpse of my mountain and I know I’ll be home soon.

When I moved to Oregon in 2008, I happened to end up living off of the road that leads up to Mt. Hood! So now, every time I am coming home, I see my mountain. Once I see it, I can breathe freely, knowing all is okay and I’m almost home. When my grandson was born and began riding with me in my car, I began talking to him constantly while driving, even though he couldn’t understand me. He first rode alone with me in the car when he was about six weeks old! I would drive along and point out things to him; things he couldn’t see from his rear-facing car seat, but it didn’t matter, I still pointed them out. That’s when I started calling it “my mountain” and “Nana’s mountain”. So now, when we see Mt. Hood from the road, he says it’s Nana’s mountain or he’ll ask if it is because sometimes he will think it’s Mt. Hood only to be told it is actually Mt. St. Helens that he’s looking at or one of the other peaks visible from the Portland area.

The other day, my daughter picked him up at school, instead of me and when they got to the first sight of Mt. Hood, my daughter says she heard him from the back seat as he said, “I see someone’s mountain. I think that’s Nana’s mountain!”
Below: Not the best picture but this is the view I see every day on my way home.

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