Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canucks and honorary-Canucks too!
Canada Day is pretty special to me, even though it has been years since I’ve actually celebrated it in Canada.
During our first few years of marriage Pierre and I moved around…a lot. Montreal to San Diego, San Diego to Silicon Valley, and back again to the East Coast. At first, our goal was to eventually move back to Canada. Yet in the past five years, as we’ve settled into our life together in small-town Pennsylvania, we’ve discovered a unique sense of pride that comes with being a Canuck living in another land. For us, living in Canada has become secondary to simply being Canadian.
We’ve found small ways of integrating Canada into our daily lives. A framed Maple Leaf hangs humbly in our living room, while across the room is a print of children playing hockey, Ce sont des gagnants (They are all Winners). There is First Nations’ art on our walls, French children’s books scattered throughout the house, and Passe-Partout or Arthur L’Aventurier in the DVD player. Ben and Nicholas can each proudly sing the first four lines of the Canadian national anthem, though in their version “all thy sons” come and play hockey!
The boys in their Canada hats.
There have been challenges to living outside of Canada: work visas, green cards, and raising our sons to be bilingual in a predominantly English environment, though both boys now understand French well (which comes in handy when they’re in trouble in the grocery store, and I don’t want other shoppers to know what I am saying to them!). They can speak French too. And there are things that Pierre and I miss: family and friends, hearing French, the unique feel of CTV, and seeing the Maple Leaf soaring high. We miss Tim Horton’s (though the local grocery store now carries Timmy’s coffee!), Robertson screws, and poppies on Remembrance Day. But, every so often, there are sweet surprises that remind us of home: finding Smarties at the grocery store (in the ethnic food aisle!) or meeting someone who says, “You’re from Canada? I just went to Montréal (or Toronto, or Halifax or Vancouver). I loved my visit”. Talk about pride!
We’ve discovered that there is something about being Canadian that goes far beyond decorations in our home, coffee or Arthur. It is in the very way that we live our lives. It is in bringing up our sons to feel pride in a country that will so intricately be part of their lives, though they may never live in it. It is in living up to the notion of Canadians as kind and friendly people. It is in taking a keen interest in the on-goings of our native land, though we live hundreds of kilometers away. And it is in knowing that we can care deeply about our new country, while taking nothing away from our homeland.
And my family and I love our adopted land. We’ve made amazing friends across our travels. And the people that we have met here, in Pennsylvania, are among the best that we know. Our small community of friends and neighbors welcomed us with openness and generosity. And they have, thankfully, embraced our Canadianess. By now, they’re used to me saying “eh?” at the end of my sentences, Pierre’s French accent, and the fact that we celebrate Thanksgiving before Halloween. Pierre wearing shorts in December, and our love of Les Canadiens is met with good-natured jests to our heritage. During the last Winter Olympics, we watched the Canada-U.S.A. hockey final with close American friends, toasting each other with Canadian and U.S. brew, and promising to remain close, no matter the outcome of the game. We’ve hosted Canada Day parties and Thanksgiving dinners, and introduced our American friends to everything from The Tragically Hip to Robert Munsch to Québec maple syrup and poutine.
Over the last seven years, I’ve discovered so much that I love about living in the United States. I love that Benjamin and Nicholas are dual-citizens of two amazing countries, speakers of two native-languages. The doors open to them will be endless. I love that Benjamin can recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and sing God Bless America, following each up with Oh Canada! I love Americans for their unabashed patriotism. I love smooth U.S. freeways (hello, no pot-holes!), Memorial Day, and a Thanksgiving holiday that breaks up the dreariness of November. I love no tax on clothes in PA (You heard right. No tax on clothes!), and shorter winters. I love the feeling that comes with living in small-town U.S.A. Oh, and I love Target (though Canadians will soon experience this love too!).
I’ve have discovered, over the years, that living outside of Canada does not make my boys and me any less Canadian. Instead, we’ve all learned to appreciate the best of both worlds, and the best of both countries.
So today, on Canada Day, Pierre and I be joining our fellow Canucks, from afar, in toasting our homeland strong and free (the boys can toast with milk). A few days from now, we’ll raise a glass to the Stars and Stripes. And Ben will sing about both. What could be better?
xo Naomi
P.S. For a little maple-inspired cooking, try out the recipe below. We made ours on a cedar-plank without the rice pilaf. Delicious either way!
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