my canadian-ness

it’s in the way i say pants, not trousers
the way i prefer potlucks over pub lunches
and a cold crisp beer to a warm bitter
it’s in my sensitivity
and how, frankly, i couldn’t care less which social class you come from
it’s my love for banjos and bearded men and wooly tuques
and flannel plaid shirts and the smell of fire
and deciduous forests that turn orange in the fall
and the way i like my winters with several inches of snow
and my summers with the scent of pine needles
(when they’ve fallen to the ground and are drying in the sun)
and prefer mike myers to monty python
and hockey to rugby
and coffee to tea
and how i’m more likely to quote seinfeld “you double dipped the chip!”
and less likely to say: “he’s not the messiah, he’s a very naughty boy!”
(i don’t even know what that means)
(and yes, i watch and reference seinfeld and i think it’s funny)

and maybe i don’t say eh
but i am canadian
and you can take a girl out of canada
but you can never take the canadian out of the girl

—

i’ve never been very patriotic. in fact, i consider myself and everyone else a citizen of the world. but my sister and her husband and a canadian friend came to visit last week and it made me realize just how canadian i am. how refreshing it was to sit in my pyjamas in an old cottage in wales and catch up by the fire, glass of wine in hand. the ease of it all is something i’ve missed this past year.

it’s always nice to be reminded where you come from and who you are at the core. and how, when you think you are floating around in the ether, there is actually a thin string grounding you to the place you come from, no matter how nomadic you are. when i landed here over a year ago, i felt like a fish out of water. i wanted to suppress my canadian-ness to fit in. but the truth is, my canadian-ness if part of who i am and i’ll be damned if i disrespect my roots! yes, i talk a little funny. and no, i don’t get monty python. but i can make a mean pancake with real maple syrup. and i can strap on a pair of hiking boots and climb to the top of a mountain and i know what a poutine is and i can travel the world knowing that my country is one to be proud of.

thank you m&m for bringing a little piece of canada to our little london home (we miss you already)
and for you, dear reader, i give you a little piece of canada in the form of music (because that’s how i roll)

xo

p.s. i recently dusted off my digital camera. unemployment doesn’t lend itself well to the cost of film development and i couldn’t very well stop shooting so after 3 long years, i finally pressed the shutter on the old DSLR. and although it was fun and immediate, i think it just confirmed what i already knew… i’ve fallen hard for film. my initial crush has turned into a full-blown love affair and i’m in way too deep to let it go.