Today Canada celebrates it's 146th birthday.
I think I’m truly Canadian. I’ve lived across this vast
country, being born and raised in the francophone city of Montreal on the
mighty St. Lawrence river, then growing up in the flat, big sky, prairie city of Winnipeg, then settling to
raise a family in the river city of Edmonton and now ending my working days on the far west tip
of the country in Victoria, British Columbia.
I've celebrated Canada Day in many capital cities, notably
our nation’s capital of Ottawa but also Winnipeg, Regina and Edmonton. About a
decade ago I celebrated Canada Day in Sydney, Australia then got on an Air
Canada flight home and celebrated with the passengers then arrived back in Edmonton on July 1 to more
celebrations!
Today, I was served birthday cake by seniors at the airport after dropping Keith off. Then, for the first time, I mingled with the throngs in
Victoria, at the Parliament Buildings by the Empress Hotel and the boats in the
Inner Harbour. Most people were decked out in red and white, adorned with flags wrapped around them or tattooed
on their face or fluttering in their hair or being waved in their hands. I felt
proud and not so lonely. I'm at home, no not Edmonton but Canada!
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