Back in February, Tim’s company (Moda) let go of a bunch of people. Since Tim was “last hired” in his department, he was among the people they let go. Since then, we’ve been recalibrating our lives appropriately, both of us looking for full-time work. I’ve had some moderate success with freelance gigs, so for now, we’re holding steady. Since our little birds have flown the nest, we have a freedom of movement we’ve never had before, so there are multiple options for us to consider.

It’s helped to have Tim around too while I’m still reeling from my father’s death. That was even hard to type. With the recent job loss, I couldn’t make it home for the funeral, so it’s still surreal.

We decided to take advantage of Tim’s relatively free time and the glorious weather and head out to the Gorge to see as many waterfalls as we could get to. We hiked up and/or down to three waterfalls and drove past several more. Each parking lot was packed, the sides of the road lined with cars and people trekking to this waterfall or that. In typical Oregon fashion, people took advantage of the weather, and bolted out into nature for the day. Employers here seem to understand the overwhelming urge to leave the desk behind and spend the day lost in the woods.

So Tim and I took the day to ourselves, taking a break from the stress and sadness of the last few weeks. Tim’s still recovering from whatever bug the kids gave him, I’m recovering from the last of some very painful dental work (see? I’m chipmunk cheeked), and we were happy for a few hours of drinking in sunshine. Not a full-on adventure yet, but as close as we’re going to get under the circumstances.