For those that may not know, Máthair is Irish for Mother, and for a full week in early November of 2011, my mom herself flew into Portland from Youngstown, Ohio to
visit me in my new home for the first time. She had never been in the Pacific Northwest and has since described it as "similar to home, but on an overwhelmingly giant scale."“Everything is so…big!” she continually exclaimed, fascinated most by the extreme size of the evergreen trees around my apartment. At this
point, I had been living in Portland for about six months and hadn't seen either of my parents outside of Skype since heading back to Cleveland for Scott's wedding in June. We were both looking forward to the visit, and I had a lot planned.After spending the morning finishing up some freelance work, I took the MAXtrain out to the airport to pick her up. Aside from some sketchy bus lines, there really isn't much public transportation in Youngstown, Ohio. For that very reason, I wanted to introduce her to Portland via public transit, a system that holds its own among some of the highest rated in the country.
I found her at the baggage claim updating my Dad on her trip out so far and the little trouble she had flying in. After a quick greeting and an even quicker search for a WiFi connection to upload my freelance designs, I relieved her of her luggage and strode along the terminal towards the Red-line train, where we were able to board right away. For the next thirty minutes, we caught up on everything happening out here and at home, and I described different pieces of the outlying city as we got closer and closer to downtown. Soon, we were crossing over the Steel bridge and heading directly into the skyline. She peered out the window in the way a child does when seeing the mountains for the first time. I could tell that she knew right away why I loved it so much out here.We promptly dropped off her luggage at my apartment and rested ourselves for a few minutes so that she could get reacquainted with Kino, whom had recognized her instantly, so much in fact, that he immediately rolled on his back and cried, desperate for her attention. She gladly gave it in the form of a long belly rub while we caught up a bit more and I showed her around my apartment…all 380sq. feet of it.
The following five days, in between my sessions of freelance work, I took my mom all around Portland and beyond. At least, what I had learned of it by that point. Some of the highlights include a trip to Hood River and some of the Falls in the Gorge along the way, Seaside, Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach and a trip down the coast to Tillamook, the Rose Garden, Washington Park, up and down NW 23rd and a long walk though Saturday Market and all around downtown Portland. She even tried sushi for the first time in her life and also spent a morning visiting me at the coffee shop in which I was working at the time. Amidst all of that, she had one request; to stop in Voodoo Donuts for a box of the craziest concoctions they had to offer. Within a day, there were only two donuts left. That sugar high nearly kept me awake for days.
The night before she left, we had dinner with some friends that I had made since arriving in town, and after an evening of getting to know them and trading a few stories of my experiences in town so far, we walked back to the car with her telling me how proud she was of what I had since accomplished and the people that I had aligned myself with. I had been in Portland for six months at this point, and I had come a long way since my arrival. From the beginning, my parents had been undeniably supportive of my move to Portland, especially in the hardest, most frustrating moments of starting anew. They believed in what I was doing. It meant the world. What my mom didn't know, as I drove her back to the airport the next day, was that I would actually be seeing her again in a few short months during a surprise trip home. From her perspective, neither one of us were sure when we would be in each other's company again. But one thing was certain; we made the absolute most of the week she was in town. I couldn't have imagined a better time. Simply put, my mom is the best.
