I Love Canada

I love living in Canada. I do. I’ve traveled to many places throughout the world. Not to sound partial or prideful in my speech, but my Canada ranks as the most beautiful place to live and raise a family in the world. The wonderful thing about living where I do is that lots of woods and farms surround my home. Lots.

Now, the town where I live is an old colonial town. It came to being back in the 1800’s, during the war with the States. Yes, we were the red coats. As a trading post, well-to-do’s spent much of their hard-earned cash here on business between the other towns and the city—the city being Toronto. Much of that philosophy has carried over to today. Although our town is small, it has a huge and dramatic influence throughout York Region, where many of our townships lie.

Living where I live, I enjoy the four seasons. Our summers are hot and our winters are cold. Much of what we go through as citizens in our country we take for granted. For instance, almost every family on my street has their kids in hockey. It’s the Canadian way. Another example of being Canadian is our Hockey Night in Canada program on the CBC on Saturday nights. Most, if not all the guys sit around their TV sets to enjoy the great game of hockey, with lots of beer for the taking, railing on the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I’m not one of those guys. Never been. Never will. I’d rather watch a movie on a Saturday night, with lots of action and plenty of drama to boot than watch a hockey game. Sorry guys. That’s the way I’ve always been. That’s the way it is.

Nevertheless, getting back to my town…lots of woods and farms surround my home. I enjoy the autumn and wintertime because of the joy it brings me when planning activities. I get a thrill when I’m in amongst our townsfolk. I don’t know how to describe it. There’s a camaraderie with each other, knowing that we all know each other simply by a gesture, a smile or a nod. It’s difficult not going to a grocery store, library or gas station without greeting someone I know. DIFFICULT. Equally difficult is NOT stopping for a conversation to find out how the family is doing or how nine-year-old Chester’s doing with his piano lessons or his weekend hockey games.

I enjoy being Canadian. I wouldn’t want anything else in a hundred or a thousand years. It’s who I am. I enjoy our hard, HARD, winters. I love our temperate, mild autumns. And, there’s nothing like having fun on a Saturday night with the neighbors and their kids during hockey season.

Yes, this is not a writing-centric post. But it does give you a glimpse—a bird’s eye view—of where I’m coming from to understand where I fit in the big scheme of things.

Oh, I also enjoy cooking—lots of cooking, living a wholesome life based on the principles laid out in the bible…and I take pride in saying I’m Canadian!