I’m thankful for a walk through a downtown, town square, Thursday market.
I could smell fresh fruit/vegetables, garlic and spices, breads, soaps and we stopped, to sit and plunge our hands into the cool water of the fountain.
I’m thankful for fresh cherries.
I’m thankful for three/four person calls.
I’m thankful to live in a country, Canada, with accepting strong parents.
This is a preview of any Canada Day post I may still write for July 1st, but it is a bit of a tricky subject, this year especially.
I am staying random, as this is my first A to Z year, but writing about the things I love is a good way for anyone who is new to this blog, for them to get to know me better.
Canada is celebrating our 150th birthday, but not everyone is so thrilled about that.
There were people living on this land before 1867 and they don’t like feeling like before that year of Confederation
they didn’t exist. I don’t blame them.
My ancestors came here a long time ago, but it simply can’t compare.
I am glad my ancestors came here. I like living here. I need to see more of it.
Canada made the list for happiest countries in the world. We cracked the top 10 and I would have to agree.
So, let’s just get to it, because I need some relief from the news of the day.
I am thankful for writers and thinkers such as Margaret Atwood.
I have not read The Handmaid’s Tale, as Atwood’s genre is one that covers uncomfortable truths and possibilities, through fiction and inside fictional realities. I don’t feel comfortable reading that stuff, but I do believe I am missing out.
She has had a long and esteemed writing career in Canada and we are lucky to have her intelligence and her talents.
I am thankful for those I know who travel and are out there living life, reporting back to me somehow on their journeys.
The world scares me and that is why I must see more of it, as much as I possibly can.
But, when and where I cannot, I value my friends, better than all the travel blogs I have followed on Facebook. My friends and those I’ve met, somewhere, somehow are out there and inspiring me to not feel so scared all the time.
And, if I am unable to push away my fear completely, they prove to me that it is possible to go ahead anyway. You miss less by going and doing, fear be damned.
I am thankful for Canada and my extremely privileged citizenship here.
We have our problems and we must acknowledge those. I see protests and silencing in Russia, famine and governmental corruption in Africa, and the unrest and polarization in the U.S. and I hope Canada can face our sins and remain as united and reasonable as possible.
I plan to write more about this as Canada Day, 2017 draws closer.
I am thankful for audio progress reports.
The sound of the App notification on my phone is enough to make me smile and forget my other racing thoughts for a few moments.
My friend may be over in Ireland, but I still get to hear her daughter’s growth, through trying to fill her baby’s bottle and spilling an entire jug of milk all over the floor or not understanding why she can’t fit into her doll’s clothes.
The photos my friend captions for me and then I listen to the short video clips with great interest. I look forward to them in my week.
I am thankful for more time holding my baby niece.
Speaking of growth…she is now one month old and my sister feels she is already growing too fast.
She loves to eat. I like to hold her the other times, when she is not nursing, and then my sister can do some other things.
My niece has a real angry cry, as babies do, but I hold her when she sleeps and she is so peaceful then. Hard to believe it’s the same child. You gotta love it.
I am thankful for all those who help me understand things better, things I often miss out on, those like my extremely generous friend.
My writing mentor is teaching travel writing across some of Africa and she posted a tree. I knew she wouldn’t post it for no reason. She must have seen something special in that tree. I wanted to try and see something in that photo too, in my mind.
“When a bulb burns out, I see. Even in the dark, it feels sunny to me. Skipping in the shadows, every corner holds beauty. There is always light if you look closely.” —Angela Saini
I don’t expect the world to always modify for my needs. Photos are visual things. I get that. Sometimes I just want to imagine what one looks like.
My friend, a writer and a scientist, she heard about this and offered to describe the tree. I learned a lot.
“Splashing through the puddles. Knowing that’s how green grass grows.” —Angela Saini
I am thankful for the first real spring weather.
The other day was so mild. The sunshine was warm on my face. No more shivering.
“I don’t own a poncho. Whenever it rains I only see a rainbow.” —Angela Saini
Spring means rain. I like a good rainstorm. Bring it on.
A rainbow is one of those things, like any photo, that I long to see and never likely will. I appreciate any person’s interpretation of what a rainbow looks like.
Anyone want to give it a go? Leave your description in the comments to this post.
I am thankful for a lesson I thought was certain to be bad.
We had to miss a week. My teacher is in university and this time of year is particularly chaotic.
Any time we have this happen, like when I was in Mexico, I assume the next lesson will not go well at all because of the extra time in between.
I’ve learned this isn’t always the case. I had an extremely productive and energetic practice just before and we had a great talk about the strain and endurance of playing the violin.
Oh, I also did work on the actual practicing techniques too, trying to make it more of a constant flow of sound, rather than always so start and stopish.
Like this. Maybe…one day. Maybe.
I am thankful the U.S. dodged an extremely wrong and risky bullet.
At first I was negative about it, as it strikes a nerve because I have needed lots of medical care, so I immediately thought this was winning a battle but not the war.
Why does this need to be a fight anyway?
Then I was reminded, if I were living in the U.S and relied on the healthcare system there in a big way, I’d want just a short period of time to relax and feel relieved for this moment in time.
I am still worried, anxious for all who would be affected, but I feel helpless to do anything.
Many of us feel like people see us as such a drain on the system, but we’ve faced death or serious illness. It’s no game to us.
“My train home is three hours late. Must be time for another piece of cake – I like chocolate.” —Angela Saini
I am thankful for the positive reception and Canadian support of the newly told.
The Canadian people watched the new Anne of Green Gables series and they have spoken that they approve.
The CBC was going to air the second episode two weeks after last week’s premier, but the reception was so positive that they went ahead and aired it last night.
I am keeping an open mind, as the story makes Canada proud from what I see, so I am going to keep an episode diary on my Facebook page every time it airs.
I will call it Ahead By A Century, like the theme song for the show, by The Tragically Hip.
This song is all about seeing the silver lining, but her lyrics suggest there is always something good in everything. That’s what TToT is all about too, in a way.
Of course, I know this is a bit of an over simplification, we all know it, but really we have to at least try.
Every tear you cry, every doubting eye All of these things will pass away
All of your big mistakes, your little old heart would break Wishing that I would take them back clickable
Write down the things you don’t want Burn them in a glass
Write down the things you dream of Make a paper plane that flies to heaven clickable
I had a little mishap with my D string. It took three employees of the music store to find one that would fit.
I had it driven home, once more, after the day I was having; I am one-of-a-kind and so I shouldn’t really be surprised that the first try of violin strings wouldn’t quite cut it.
The guy eventually, expertly fitted the correct D string to my violin and all was well again.
Back to the newbie life of a beginner.
For fresh pea season arriving once again.
It only comes once a year. I look forward to it, all the long winter months.
The pea podding is a zen activity.
Do you know those ball pits kids love to jump into.
Well, I love the sound of a bowl full of podded peas. The sound they make, rolling all around, it reminds me of just that.
That I could enjoy another spectacular Canada Day fireworks display.
The weather was cool, just how I prefer it. The company was on its way. The bbq decided to be out of propane.
Plan B: kitchen – sausages, hamburgers, and more fresh strawberries.
The night sky lit up bright and I was blessed to see a bit of the dazzling display, as who knows, by the time another year rolls around, what I may see.
My three-year-old nephew saw a pizza in the sky, circle bursting forth. I love his imagination. I saw huge bursts too. I saw something.
That my brother was given another chance to perform his music, somewhere in his city, thanks to
They were buskers on the street. Driving by I could hear them out the car window.
Standing there, watching them perform, I enjoyed the shade of the tree they were set up under.
My brother performed a beautiful version of “Decade Adrift”, the song we’re currently collaborating together on.
I really don’t see how his hands can move so fast, on those guitar strings, to produce something of such power.
For an excellent dinner.
It was the discovery of a new delicious vegetable. I had never tasted water cress before. It reminded me of bean sprouts a little. It was refreshing and delicious.
My beer (Great Lakes Blonde) was the perfect choice, and at this place there were a lot to choose from.
The meal was the perfect choice, chicken florentine, along with turtle chocolate cheesecake and gelato.
The restaurant is in an old house, with creaky floors upon entering, but a roomy bench seat and cool air vent after being outside for the afternoon.
For a 100th birthday celebration.
She was the only main character in Gone with the Wind, to die in the film. So, it only makes sense that she is last to live in real life.
Her part in Gone with the Wind is one of angelic purity, but if you stick it out until the end, you see that she is so much more.
Olivia, in that part, reminds me of my own grandmother, from the first time I watched and became obsessed by the film. Each time I watch her play the role of Melanie Hamilton, I think of the grandmother who always believed the best in people.
For old movies.
They are a great contrast to movies of today. They have a sound, distinct, that I love to lose myself in.
Not that they took place in a better time, but it feels like that, so I explore how people thought, acted, and spoke in those days.
For a prime minister who makes the effort.
This year was the first time a current Canadian Prime Minister walked in Pride.
The parade is celebrated, all over the world, as in people travel from all around to attend the biggest LGBTQ celebrations.
With it being Canada Day, I watched videos of recent refugees in tears, so grateful to be in Canada.
It’s a struggle, to be a minority or marginalized, but I am glad my PM is making a statement by showing up.
For the hard/valuable lessons learned from one who was there.
Elie Wiesel died this week. I read his memoir “Night” when I was about twenty.
The way he wrote, describing the sights, sounds, and smells of his horrible time in concentration camps was like nothing I’d ever read before.
For the chance to be a witness.
He said even if those who were there are now disappearing, those who listened to their message while they were here, we are witnesses, not literally, thank God.
But that we took the time to really listen and are devoted to never forgetting, to sharing, and spreading the history.
link When a person doesn’t have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity.
—Elie Wiesel (1928-2016)
And a special edition bonus thankful:
Canada, the country, to have been born here. This is the thankful that is in the background and foreground of this entire post and always, in everything I write.
Today is a celebration in my country. Today is Canada’s 149th birthday.
How perfect – this all lined up with Finish the Sentence Friday and its particular sentence for the week, which ties in with all I have been thinking about on countries, borders, and our one, global world.
Every year, on July 1st and since I started this blog, I have found it important to say something about Canada or what it’s like to be Canadian.
Last year we had another political party in charge and another politician leading Canada.
This year we have Justin Trudeau. Not all are thrilled, just like I wasn’t thrilled with the people in charge this time last July.
Stories in the news for 2016 are more often than not horrifying to me. I listen to the epic race for the White House and the Brexit referendum. I look around me here in Canada, and I hold on tightly, but the other night I listened to a speech put on in Ottawa’s parliament, by visiting US President (for the time being) Barack Obama.
He began it with the words: “People of Canada…” and I was unprepared for all I was about to hear.
What I wish the world knew is a simple enough word: peace. They often say they know (those leading the way), that they understand, but continually prove the opposite to be true. This leaves those of us, so desperate for peace, to feel like we’re the odd ones out, like what we’re asking for is so out-of-reach impossible.
Obama started to speak and I’ve never been so speechless and yet bursting with thoughts and things to say, all at the same time. I wanted to cry, more than once, as he spoke and the crowd cheered at various statements he made.
Just days after the Brexit vote, I listened to a speech by a certain UKIP politician, to the EU. It carried a definite, a continual tone of mocking and gloating. Totally uncalled for and unnecessary, in my mind, as mature adults, or thought to be mature adults should be conducting themselves and holding themselves to a much higher standard than was evident in that room.
Then, compare that to one given by Nicola Sturgeon, in Scotland, where she spoke of what may end up need to be done. She struck me as a powerful female voice, in the world of politics, where so often women’s voices are mostly silent. As she finished speaking, however, sirens could be heard in the distance, coming closer and closer. This felt ominous to me in some way.
Then, this week, it was the North American Leader’s Summit. The leaders of Mexico, the United States, and Canada came together to talk a wide array of topics, from the environment to Brexit.
Of course, on Canada Day and every other, I am glad Canada is is its own, individual nation, while existing as part of the North American continent. I feel bad to admit it, that I’ve been feeling a sense of relief, that perhaps Canada’s darker period is over, while the US’s may still be ahead of them. I don’t wish civil unrest on anyone, not the least on my neighbours to the south. I don’t think the United States fully realized how good they had it with Obama. However, I don’t think isolation is the answer and we need each other, more than we’d like to admit.
To be honest, I am dying for this summer to fly by, this year in particular, because I am feeling uncomfortable while the US elections are revving up, but perhaps (if the UK is any indication) I shouldn’t be in any big rush for the summer of 2016 to come to an end. I am dreading the results this November, yet I remain skeptically optimistic, after how Canada’s elections turned out last fall.
Obama spoke in Ottawa and it was his last visit to Canada as President. He was the first US president to come here since Clinton, twenty years ago. Particularly, Trudeau and Obama have been developing a friendly relationship, which is for the good of us all, but this pleasant environment could be short lived.
Obama spoke about refugees and immigrants. He didn’t speak about building walls and closing ranks against the rest of the world. He addressed the dangers of the “us against them” mentality, which I’d like to tell the rest of the world, can’t possibly work.
Obama spoke of the US/Canada history. War of 1812, (some bad memories there).
🙂
Then there came the Underground Railroad. While things for minorities were never great here or there, there was a reason why we were the north that slaves of the time were willing to die to get to. We could be a refuge for so many then.
We could be, we can set an example once more. I want to think Canada can set that example, as politics in the US is soon to change, Obama’s time nearly up, but that Trudeau has only just begun his time in office. Some say he has been bad for Canada, and if they are talking budgets and economy, I am the last to say I know a lot about those things and how it will all turn out, but Justin Trudeau has made strides on many things humanitarian. I want Canada to show the world that opening up our hearts and home to people fleeing war will make the world a better place, but Obama spoke about doing all we can do to ensure a more peaceful planet earth, so wars and unrest can’t uproot so many from there homes in the first place.
I want to make all my bursting thoughts come out in a coherent statement for how I feel. I don’t go by the situation with currency or by the stock market. I go by my heart. What doesn’t feel true and compassionate to me, I know isn’t possibly to benefit the world. So much fear and shameful reaction to fear. I want my country to lead the way in doing better.
And so, as many celebrated their very first Canada Day in this country this year, I hope they feel welcomed, even if this place is still a strange one to them. As I hope for all this, I think always on the first Canada Day my grandparents spent, all those years ago. They left Europe after that continent had been nearly destroyed, devastated by war, and we can’t let that continue to happen. Surely, the world must realize this. Or am I just talking to myself here, banging my own head up against a brick wall? Am I simply too naive for my own good, when it comes down to what humans are capable of?
And I wish nothing but peace on this Canada Day, 4th of July, or whatever else may mark any other country’s place in the world.
To end with – my thoughts are with Turkey, after the latest run-in with the opposite of peace. Their country deserves the same level of support, just like Belgium, France, the US or anywhere else, as fellow human beings, living together and sharing this planet of ours, we need each other. We cannot fight hate with even more hate. Peace, going forward, always. Please. Don’t make me beg!
Walking this morning through the old cemetery in Montreal, where the sun shone down, and flowers grew, and insects busied themselves about the grass and shrubbery, the gravestones stood collected and collectively silent. I observed the names carved thereupon, of generations come and gone, resting beside each other now. And I took note. All those names fading on the stones. Names from all number of nations. Names, all shuffled together on the hillside and beneath the trees. Scottish next to Italian, English and Irish next to French and Spanish, Greek side by side with Polish and German. Names of immigrants, each and every one, come here from the European continent to make and live out their short lives. Names all silent now, long gone, indifferent, forevermore in company, lying in the same ground.
What a crazy world we live in. I usually write about that in a segment I like to call, “In The News and On My Mind.” However, I just can’t today. I know very little about all the bigger than big factors playing all parts concerned.
What’s happening, when British MP Jo Cox is murdered last week? Venezuela is apparently in crisis. And Brexit is all over the news?
Is it really every man/country for itself now? Do we help each other out, or do we tear each other down, only look out for our own best interest? How can the world survive if we all think like that?
On the other hand, as the US has told itself many times, especially in the last fifteen or so years, one country can’t fix/rescue/control all other countries.
I just don’t know. Canada, where I live, honestly feels more and more like an island in a drowning world. We may be one of the more peaceful, quiet players, but that can’t possibly last forever either.
Canada Day is coming up next week. Perhaps I can figure more out about it all by then, to write more of my thoughts on it, but for now, here is my list of thankfuls.
Update on my email and technology issues is that my sister and mother helped me delete many thousands of emails. I am an email hoarder. I appreciate their patience.
For fresh strawberries/a strawberry moon on the first day of summer.
I am obsessed with moons of all sorts, be they blue or red or super.
Summer solstice and it made me think of the story I wrote about strawberry moons, a few years back. May share that in spoken word format on the new podcast.
For the discovery of electric blue clouds, which I used as an image for my #1000Speak theme for June.
For the chance to be a part of an important Kickstarter campaign, on a literary travel magazine start-up that is going to bring attention to all the perspectives of travel writing which exist and, up till now, may not have been heard.
If you love to read about travel, exploration, adventure, and place, check out the amazing work they are doing.
They are working to raise a certain amount, before launching their first issue this coming September. They have a goal they hope to meet, so they can pay their writers and contributors a little something, which many places don’t do.
The debate over paying writers is ongoing and I know, like world issues, is two-sided. I just like what Panorama is trying to do.
Maybe journals like it can help stem further divisiveness between cultures, countries, human beings, in the wake of all that’s happened and is happening. Can’t hurt to try anyway. Could end up making all the difference in the world.
That Brian and I finally got our first podcast episode recorded.
Phew!
More work than I ever imagined it would be. Lovely feeling of accomplishment when we did finish though.
In the process, he taught me about “cross fades” and so much more.
It’s not only the recording, but it’s the editing too. We hope to make it sound somewhat professional, while holding onto our authentic style. Entertaining and educational at the same time.
We will be releasing it this coming week.
It’s like jumping off a cliff, metaphorically of course, but exhilarating.
For the challenge of writing new lyrics to a song my brother first wrote several years ago and of which has quickly grown very important to me.
This song is not your typical radio hit. It’s made up of several parts which are almost like their own little, individual songs, inside one longer musical framework. It’s a musical/lyrical journey.
🙂
The theme is getting lost for a decade of your life. What does that feel like? Well, I equate it with getting swept up and sent adrift on an ocean of endless uncertainty.
We just had to work to make my lyrics fit the parts of the song. It needed a melody and further arrangement. It had to be structured. I hope it comes together, just like “Don’t Look Back” came together in the end.
For the gift of colours in my life, even for a little while.
Red is my favourite colour, but how to describe why and what it is to someone who has never seen it? Hmmm.
😦
My brother asked me, during the podcast, and I thought and thought and thought.
I am grateful that I ever saw orange, blue, red. I lose sight of that sometimes, as I’ve now lost colours from my life, but my brother reminds me to be grateful again.
Big contrast from the weather we had at the beginning of the week to the end of it.
Sure, getting into a car after being in somewhere was like entering a sauna, which I am not fond of, but at least it was a dry heat, not a humid, sticky heat.
For the chance to see Finding Dory in a comfortable chair at the movies (which is a bit of an oxymoron) and for getting to see it with family.
It’s a film about the ocean, which I love. It was my first movie theatre experience with my three-year-old nephew. It was comfortable seats and popcorn and other snacks for breakfast, as it was a children’s morning movie showing.
I also must praise the theatre, not just for their foot rests and lounge recliners, but for their excellent audio description services. I’ve had lots of problems other places, for other movies, but this time it all went smoothly.
Finding Dory was moving for me, in a few places, and I am writing a piece on why that was. Not sure where to try submitting it, but I think it’s worth highlighting.
So, I made something this week. I took a chance and went for it. The world had its moments of turmoil, but I choose to remain cautiously optimistic, for now at least.
I explain to my almost totally blind younger brother about colour and he shows me all the music I didn’t know I’d been missing.
I like the tone of “Mercury Falling” and I like the imagery of it, as sometimes it’s not so easy to feel our world is headed in the right direction, but even winter and lower temperatures aren’t all bad.
“I was free with every road as my home. No limitations and no commitments. But then summer passed and winter came and I fell short for safety. I fell for its spell, slowly humming me to sleep, because I was tired and small, too weak to take or handle those opinions and views, attacking me from every angle. Against my art, against my self, against my very way of living. I collected my thoughts, my few possessions and built isolated walls around my values and character. I protected my own definition of beauty and success like a treasure at the bottom of the sea, for no one saw what I saw, or felt the same as I did, and so I wanted to keep to myself.
― Charlotte Eriksson, Another Vagabond Lost To Love: Berlin Stories on Leaving & Arriving
Since I started taking part in TToT, I have wondered, am surprised constantly, at how I have been able to come up with ten whole things to be thankful for each week.
TEN THINGS OF THANKFUL
Well, this week started with Canada Day and has ended with Independence Day for the US. This is a time when people are thankful and grateful for the blessings in life. So, here I go again.
First, I’ll start off with literature and feminism.
For a remarkable woman who is a star at both of these things.
This week I have been learning more about other cultures and ways people live.
When I was young, I thought Africa was nothing but poverty, but that is the simplistic view of a child who doesn’t know any better.
Chimamanda goes on to talk about her mother, using words such as: “cool” and “warm”. It’s clear, the powerful influence and strong role models her parents have been to her.
So you go on to learn, I learned through listening to interviews, that this Nigerian girl’s mother was the cool mom and a warm person. This is basically the same as my own mother. We’re not so different, us who come from different parts of the world.
Canada to Africa…it may seem a world away, in distance, but not in human spirit.
Chimamanda is a brilliant writer, a commanding speaker, and a strong advocate for feminism and she is fast becoming someone I admire for all she has accomplished.
Monday: for my wonderfully helpful sister.
She is there, always just there for me when I really am in need.
Like, say, when I start to panic and then am thinking about backing out of a first date and she talks me down with help on my hair, wardrobe choices, nails and the rest.
She knows me best and I trust her opinions more than anyone. I can be confident she wouldn’t let me leave the house looking anything like a slob. Nice to know.
🙂
Thanks, KH, for even dropping me off.
For first dates, in themselves.
Because, even if first dates never lead to second dates, I am thankful that I get to go on a date of any kind.
They teach me, every single time, about the different people there are in the world and, more importantly, about myself.
It helps when there is over two hours of flowing conversation. This, of course, is much preferred, to long pauses and awkwardness.
Tuesday: for a visit to the library on a rainy day.
The first time we took my nephew to our local one of these, I think he was so overwhelmed by the setting he found himself in, that he did well. Of course, we only stayed a few minutes, until he chose a book with no real words. It was mostly a picture book about a cat and a spaceship.
:Don’t…eat…space!”
This time he was more determined to climb the stairs, but unfortunately that was where the adult sections were and the people up there did not enjoy what happened next.
So all my two-year-old nephew wanted to do was run up and down the isles of books, hiding behind the shelves and have me chase him.
I wasn’t about to do this. Part of the reason is that being quiet in a library is the common rule, I was much too enthralled by all the books around me, and there was a place he could be louder in. This was called the children’s section.
I love libraries and I know he will too, one of these days.
🙂
For the chance to be introduced to other cultures and people who share this country with me.
It was unfamiliar to me, but I soon found it to be quite catchy.
For Canada.
As the above video shows, Canada is made up of so many different cultures and ethnicities. This is what makes this a great place to live and to learn and to love.
The Great White North, we are known as.
What makes us great is our acceptance of other people. I know this has not always been the case, as I’ve said in recent posts, but it is what I want for myself and everyone. I know Canada has had our struggles, like any country, but I am still proud of what we are known for around the world and here at home.
For a view you just can’t beat.
I celebrated, July 1st, with my family and an amazing view of the fireworks display my city put on.
But it certainly was a show, and right from my lawn too.
For the small bit of sight I still have.
I know I can complain sometimes, about all that I can no longer see or never could, but when I can still make out the bright lights, exploding in the night sky, I am lucky.
Friday: for summertime because that means fresh peas.
You can’t turn green from eating too many peas? Does anyone know?
Ever since I was young I’ve looked forward to, not just the eating of the peas, but even more it’s the podding that I love.
Does this make me strange?
*Crickets*
Nah.
It’s a zen thing. Very relaxing.
Saturday: for family gatherings.
Every few months we get my whole family together. Sure, it’s hectic and chaotic, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’m used to having nearly twenty cousins and those gatherings used to get unruly. Compared to all that (three siblings, siblings-in-law, and only three niece and nephews) is nothing in comparison to that, when it comes to size.
There’s a lot of food, drink, catching up, laughter, and play.
My family is the best!
And so, whatever may happen in the next little while (whatever is to come), I will still remember to be thankful for the family I have and the country where we all live.
On the Eve of my country’s birthday I listened to the words of a young man who spoke the truth of the experience he has had, growing up in Canada – an experience totally different from my own.
He had a turbulent childhood and youth, to put it mildly; whereas, I had stability, support, and safety.
He faced violence and gangs; whereas, I faced a disability and illness.
We are both around the same age and are Canadian, but is that all we have in common?
I don’t know very much at all about this particular guy’s culture or customs, but this video moved me and made me want to bridge that gap.
He spoke of breaking cycles and chains of abuse and neglect in his family and community, but he spoke of all these things with humour and humility.
Twenty-four hours later I stood with my own family, on my own front lawn, for a spectacular fireworks show. The lights and the bangs were all around us. I thought about the celebration we put on, to celebrate Canada, and what that really means.
I believe it’s fair to say that when the rest of the world thinks of Canada, they think polite, friendly, warm.
We live in a cold climate. We are passive. We are where the Underground Railroad ended up and where deserters fled to in protest of the Vietnam War.
We are the safe place and the non-judgmental refuge from danger and persecution, right?
Well, not always.
Are these truth or myth or a bit of both?
History books might tell a different story. If they don’t, they should and they haven’t, not nearly enough, but we shall see what history says about the time we’re now living in over the generations to come.
Canada turns 148 this year and our flag is celebrating its 50th birthday.
Last year I spoke of the ten things I love about my country, in a post I titled:
This year I thought I would change directions because I can’t only highlight the things that make Canada great, without speaking up on others that are just as important, even if they aren’t quite so pleasant to think or to talk about.
None of what I have to say today means I love this country any less. It is beautiful and splendid. I love my home, but that is precisely why I believe it is necessary to bring attention to what’s been in the news and on the minds of many Canadians, including myself.
My heart has been heavy recently, as I’ve listened to the media speak about something known as The Truth and Reconciliation Commission or TRC.
At times such as Canada Day and the recent anniversary of our first prime minister’s birth, we celebrate the man and his accomplishments. It’s known as a sign of respect for the history and the leader that he was.
These were McDonald’s words. I don’t feel quite as up to celebrating him when I let it sink in that this was his plan for a population of the country he considered a problem, an issue to be dealt with, a plan being decided on.
Possibly more than 150,000 Aboriginal children (First Nations, Inuit, and Metis) were torn away from their families and placed in residential schools. This was a way to remove most traces of their culture and make them conform to what the churches believed a child in Canada should be.
It’s being termed “Cultural Genocide”.
Of course, on automatically hearing the word genocide, the first thing that springs to mind is the Holocaust or Rwanda, 1994.
You put the word “Cultural” in front of it, of course, to slightly shift the meaning and lighten it just a bit..
An entire minority in society, considered undesirable, was not murdered, but here in Canada, for more than 100 years, a culture was destroyed, or at least a pretty damn good effort was made.
These schools were harsh and cold places. In any place like this, there are those who take advantage of their positions of authority and much sexual, physical, and psychological and emotional abuse was perpetrated on a highly vulnerable population of innocent children.
I find the common thread, which I believe every person should do, when relating to the troubles of others.
In this case, I admit I feel very strongly about the effect segregation can have. I don’t know how closely it can be compared, but for hundreds of years, children with disabilities such as blindness and deafness have been sent away, removed from their families and most of the rest of society and placed in residential schools.
Of course, there are boarding schools all over the world, and sometimes this can be a part of a successful education, but I don’t believe it is a healthy thing to send a child away from their home. In the case of a child with a disability, it seemed like the answer. If you get a bunch of children with disabilities of the same sort in one educational facility, you can then teach them all and help the students get the special support they all require.
This, however, hides them away from the rest of the world. For so long, the rest of society did not want to see these children and it made sense to keep them separate. This touches a particular nerve. I was never sent to one of these schools and I have always been grateful for that. I don’t believe segregation is the answer to anything.
I am continuously baffled by the history of the white man coming in and taking over land, territory, and whole continents from Native people.
Aboriginal, original people who inhabited the North American continent, and all the nasty things that would take place back and forth.
History class was interesting enough to me in school, but I don’t know much about treaties and rulings. I tried to educate myself on the past. Now we have arrived in 2015 and the commission is being discussed everywhere.
I hesitated because, as I say, I wasn’t sure today was the day to talk about this. Then, I worried I knew very little and do not wish to offend, but this is such a divisive subject anyway.
I’ve heard from those who suffered and from educators and scholars.
Should there be more separation and division?
Reserves. Cycles of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. A chain of poverty, drugs and alcohol.
This has existed. Something unhealthy has been allowed to continue and of which was allowed to persist because of the silences surrounding such horrifying things.
I would like to see less segregation. With the closing of the schools, I would like to think we could all share the beautiful place that is this country.
Is this reasonable, practical, or even possible?
Is it enough to say you’re sorry? Should there be forgiveness? Is that enough?
I recently came across a blog post, written by Canadian writer and blogger Carrie Snyder:
What she wrote moved me into wanting to write my thoughts down, to try to speak up. That is because the silence needs to end.
Whatever any of us think, wherever we come down on our country’s role, at least we’re talking now. I don’t have to be so afraid to speak about this because I care and want to understand.
I want others, who may not be aware of what happened in my country, to hear about these things from one whom a more inclusive future in her country is hoped for.
I know what it must feel like to be a part of a population society has historically preferred be hidden away from everyone else. It’s a feeling of being unwanted and ashamed of.
The last residential school for Aboriginals was closed, more recently than most people might think. The year 1996 is not all that long ago still.
We can shy away from hearing about such troublesome things, or remain unaware as I was until recently, or we can all become aware and work toward something better.
Canada is not this safe, timid, perfect little country we’ve been portrayed as in the media. We are not the goodie-two-shoes little neighbour to the north of the United States.
We made our share of mistakes or more than that word can ever say.
I want us all to be fully Canadian, while still holding onto those parts of our unique cultures and histories that make us who we are and always have been.
I would like to think that young man I first spoke of and I can and are both doing our parts to make a future country of Canada as great a country as we claim to be and have always been.
I know, from listening to him speak, that is what we both can and will do. That is what we have in common. I love my country and he loves his. I want it to go forward, having every reason in the world for every one of its citizens to be proud of the Canada we are, the best Canada we can possibly be.
that it would come down to what was going on that particular day.
I was right.
***
Q: Do you see disability as more of an asset or a drawback in your daily life?
A: Let’s just call it 70/30 and I will explain why, but this could change if I were to answer this same question, say, a week from now. I suppose, though, that would be true for many of the questions I’ve answered and have yet to tackle.
I will respond using two examples of things happening during the day or two it has taken me to actually answer this question.
THE DATE AND THE NIGHT SKY
So there I am, with the contents of my closet strewn across my queen sized bed, wondering if I should just back out of the date altogether and save myself the hassle.
Dating when you can’t see is a hassle. Yes, I would use that word. I don’t like to complain because I know other people, who can’t see like me, some have trouble even getting a date to begin with.
However, out of the options offered in today’s question (asset or drawback), the latter is the one that seems to be the winner for me, given my most recent circumstances.
It’s a drawback when you want to look your best, like any girl off on a first date, but you must rely on another person’s opinions because otherwise I would leave the house wondering just exactly what best self I were going as.
I am afraid my hair will look too messy, my clothes will not match or will have some mysterious and unknown stain, and then there’s the ever-present question of makeup/no makeup?
My left eye was struck with some unexplained virus years ago and had to be removed. Now I can’t bring myself to leave my house to meet someone new without first asking someone I trust if my eye has turned.
Yes, because it does that. I am somewhat comfortable with this inevitability around my family and friends, boyfriends have found it interesting and we’ve learned to make jokes to lighten the mood, but I never want it to be the first thing an unsuspecting guy notices upon meeting me for the first time.
😉
I wait until at least the fifth date to reveal that particular quirk to anyone who has made it that far in my presence.
🙂
You just never know how someone might react.
The makeup debate rages on inside my head on an ongoing basis, but comes up particularly strongly when I am dating. Do I bother? Should I present my best self and want to look the best I can for a first meeting? I know I won’t keep up the habit going forward with any subsequent dates. I feel I’m being disingenuous because makeup is not my thing and I wouldn’t normally bother. Maybe I should just go without because the natural look is my trademark and any guy not okay with that isn’t the guy for me anyway.
My sister is my makeup artist and my manicurist. I do enjoy having my nails done. It makes me feel feminine, even if I can’t apply the polish myself.
What do I do with my hair? I don’t usually do much of anything with it. My inability to see what it looks like in the mirror certainly would make the drawback category, in this instance when I want to look well-put-together.
So I must call in the reinforcements every single time I want to have a first date. This means dragging my sister away from her own life to help me have a social life of my own.
I feel the drawback pulling at me and I want to cry. It’s only drinks, after all.
I just want to date and have a social life, like any other girl. I want to be spontaneous and carefree and live a little.
I just want to meet a guy for drinks, not having to make a huge deal of the whole thing before even leaving the house.
Drawback. Drawback. Drawback.
I guess, in the case of some guys, I could look at my disability as an asset.
This is where I try to see the positive side of the coin and I try to look at my situation as an asset. It’s only an asset in that this pretty big part of who I am could be considered intriguing to some.
They are unsure of what I am like and how I do certain things. Meeting me is a curiosity to them, not in that I am not worth meeting for other reasons mind you.
It’s another talking point and something that definitely makes me unique to most of the other girls they’ve likely met.
So I don’t give into the temptation to cancel the date and I give it my best shot.
I wear minimal makeup and nothing too flashy on my nails. I show up and try not to look as nervous as I feel inside. I talk about my blindness, am open and honest, but it’s not all we talk about.
I leave and tell myself there’s no way I can control how they saw me or what their final impressions may have been. And I hope for the best, remembering that what will be will be.
So now I stand outside, after midnight, staring up at the sky.
I am thinking over how the date went and trying to not let things out of my power make me crazy.
It’s supposed to be one of those nights where two planets (Jupiter and Venus) are closer than usual to one another.
I have come out here to stare up at the night sky, not actually hoping to see this phenomenon, but hoping that I miraculously just might.
Yeah, so I would again use the word “Drawback” to describe my disability. Tonight I would.
Because, damn, I love outer space and the planets and I wish I could see this predicted special sight. I know, reality and all that, but I am angry that I have this drawback which is preventing me from seeing what so many others are getting to see.
Okay, so I may wake up to hear that the predicted spectacle didn’t turn out like they had hoped it would. Maybe nobody got a very good show after all. Maybe it was much too cloudy anyway.
I come back in the house. There are shouts of early celebrating, on the eve of Canada Day, and then the rain comes.
I hear the sudden downpour out my window, having just avoided getting wet myself.
At this point, I have been blind for more than thirty years and I don’t often cry about any specific drawback that I experience.
The assets normally do balance them out.
But now I let the rain out my living room window fall, in place of the tears I can’t quite muster.
“Summer afternoon-summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”
–Henry James
This week started off and ended with a number of holidays, occasions, and celebrations.
TEN THINGS OF THANKFUL
Sunday: Father’s Day
For my amazing father.
Last June was the first opportunity, on my then relatively new blog, to let my own dad know what he meant to me and I did that by writing about a particularly meaningful memory from almost twenty years ago.
I consider myself lucky to live in a country full of all of the people who share it with me.
Monday: For the sweetest words in the whole world.
“I wuve you Keree.”
My nephew turns three this summer and he has begun saying these words to, not only his parents and his favourite toys and movies, but to his Auntie Kerry.
🙂
When he cuddles with me and I hear him tell me he loves me, I know how lucky I am that I get to see him, at least once a week.
I miss my other nephew and my niece. They don’t live that far away, but far enough that our contact is less frequent than I would like, but we always come back together as a family in the end.
Tuesday: My Heart Will Go On
For the unforgettable music of composer James Horner.
I was obsessed with all things Titanic in the eighth grade, with the release of the film just that Christmas. I was so excited when my parents gave me the soundtrack for my fourteenth birthday.
Thank you, James, for some beautiful music I will never forget.
Wednesday: For the incredible advances in medicine in recent years.
I am amazed, as I hold my nephew close, just what these advances have brought to our lives.
No matter what, we are lucky to have him, and we owe it all to these things, unheard-of only a few decades ago.
I dare anyone to look at the beautiful little boy I speak of and say one bad word on what some like to term, “playing God”.
Whatever is to thank, it is miraculous, what doctors can do.
For family dinners out.
We went to a place we’ve gone to for years. It was a common family dinner spot for my own family, for as far back as I can recall.
I am forever a child there, ordering my shirley temples, but my nephew only wanted the orange slice at the bottom of his glass.
Thursday: medical technology isn’t the only wonderful technology. There’s always the phone.
For the chance to reconnect with a friend. We ended up talking, on the phone, for over two hours.
She helped me tick an important item off of my bucket list last year.
And, who knows – we could embark on more adventures together in the future.
That is only some of what we talked about. She shared some important resources with me for the Canada Day blog post I’m working on about Aboriginal issues.
She is a ball of energy and enthusiasm. Speaking with her is like a tonic, getting me to look positively forward.
Friday: Supreme Court recognizes equal rights for all.
For the ruling that came down, in the US, giving all people the right to marry whomever they love.
I simply want all people to be treated equally and I hope what happened in my neighbouring country is a step in the right direction.
Saturday: Happy Birthday Helen Keller.
For the important role she has played in my life, ever since I was introduced to her in school as a young girl.
Helen Keller was born, on June 27th, 1880 in Alabama. She suddenly lost her sight and hearing, during a fever, as an infant.
She was lost and locked away in the darkness and the silence, until her teacher came into her life at age seven, and from there she was unstoppable. She learned how to speak with her hands. She went on to become a first in so many things.
She was a feminist, spokesperson for social issues, disability rights activist, and an author who traveled all over the world.
She lived life to the fullest, as much as she possibly could, and she has taught me a lot about perseverance and resilience.
I give Helen the last word for the week…
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.”
Her Headache 
