Kathy Hetherington |
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My StoryMy first job was with the City of Los Angeles, in city hall, and I worked right across the hall from Janet Tess. We used to do lunch together. My doctor made me quit when I got pregnant -- terrible morning sickness. We left L.A. in 1980. We wanted more room to raise the kids and were having a hard time finding anything affordable in L.A. My sister and her husband lived in Eugene at the time and we visited the Northwest. At first, we thought we'd move there, but my husband was able to get a transfer to the Portland office of his company so we bought a house in Vancouver, Washington. We paid less for it than we sold our home in L.A. for and it was a much bigger, newer house in a beautiful neighborhood. We had four bathrooms! Which was great with 6 daughters. By 1995 the youngest two were in high school and really didn't need the four bathrooms and all the bedrooms anymore. We always wanted an older home to monkey with and we just like the feel of the older homes, so much history. We bought a 100+ year old house in Washougal, Washington. My husband and I have been refurbishing it (a labor of love) for the last 16 years. We love it out here in our little town on the Columbia River. Washougal is about 17 miles east of downtown Vancouver, about a 20 to 30 minute drive, depending on the time of day (traffic). When I work in the Portland office, my commute is about an hour, plus or minus, which is no big deal for a gal from L.A. I need a lot of mental challenge in a job, routine is a killer for me, so the legal profession attracted me early on. Today, I'm a senior paralegal at one of the larger law firms in Portland, Oregon. Have been working there for 12 years now and specialize in probate and tax (death and taxes, very stable). I really enjoy what I do and I feel like I'm helping people. And the business classes I took in high school provided the skills I needed to move up in the ranks from a legal secretary to a paralegal. I've been a paralegal since 1993. We have 6 daughters and 23 grandchildren (11 grandsons and 12 granddaughters). The kids and grandkids are my greatest blessing! We're a party wherever we go! We get together as often as possible. Tom and I have a large yard (about 3/4 of an acre) and the house is pretty big too so we can accommodate our bunch pretty well. We're always exhausted after a family get together and spend the next day in recovery! But we relish those times. We are very involved with our church and have many friends there. I also enjoy reading and writing. I'm always reading at least one book and like to write stories that are inspired by true events. You know, like the movies we see, "based on a true story." When I retire in a couple of years, I intend to spend a lot more time writing. |