'glorious & free'

maybe it's a bit late for an 'oh Canada happy birthday' type of post but none the less here one is.

my happiest memories of Canada Day are lying back on the cool grass by the lake in Baddeck, NS, and watching the fireworks burst off the boats, while lots of cousins ran around with glow sticks wrapped around their little bodies, in real danger of tumbling in the water and spending the rest of the evening proudly shivering, wrapped in blankets, imprisoned by unimpressed parents. so large are these long ago fireworks in my mind that the more famed ones in Charlottetown left me cold, a few years ago, and so i don't make the effort to take the trip, instead celebrating with a quiet barbeque in my home town.

but it's somewhat disconcerting that on the day we're supposed to celebrate our beloved nation it's just the celebration i think about - not all the things we're supposed to be celebrating. so i thought - well write down a list of what you like about Canada (inspired by kelley, i must add) and be very, very thankful! but as i began to mull this over, all the things i didn't like about Canada came to mind. this state of mind was aptly illustrated in the newspaper, which read (in paraphrase): 'let's celebrate what unites all of us Canadians... !&%# gas prices!' perhaps complaining does unite us, and i am thankful that we can complain about things like gas prices & the governement without fear of losing our heads!

what do i like about canada?

i love the land, literally - the earth under our feet. i love the way it gets in our blood. it's the first thing and the last that i think of when i think of Canada, when i picture Canada on the map. mountains rising & prairies stretching and the rivers throughout and especially the seasides! for the ocean gets in our blood too.

i love canadian literature. i love the way it knows us so well. the way its tones and cadences reflect us. the land. the ocean. feelings. that we understand but can't put into words. art, too - vivid portrayals that we don't always want to see, but do understand, and must admit so, quietly.

i love the people. and this is not so much in the cities, where i have been afraid to show any signs of reaching out to others, because others are afraid to reach out to you. who knows who you might be. who knows what you could become. but rather i love the people in the country, where a smile at anyone begins a conversation usually starting with your relatives and ending with an invitation to dinner. or freedom to walk someone else's land. or simply someone else to say hello too, and know their name, and their father's name.

i love the food! there is no need to go hungry, or want for variety. the restaurants, the farmers... i love them all.

i love my freedom, as a woman especially.

i love all these things, and more as well. there are a lot of things i don't love, but that's alright. i understand canada and the way it is. it's familiar; it's beautiful; it's home.