Well Happy Canada Day to me and you. July 1st. You snuck up on me. Noted, I have been a bit preoccupied with this and that lately but here you are…once again..celebrating your birthday. Kind of appropriate in that seeds of Confederation came from where I dwell today not too far afoot from those steps taken by elected officials in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island of long ago talks. How far we have come? How much of a reminder of being grateful too? Today, Canada Day, marks the half way point of our year the middle of 2020. A year filled with all kinds of journeys in our country in our communities in our homes…some good and others not so you want to repeat again!! But always, we are given what we are given and to find ways to make things work, regardless of circumstance. That is the rub.
It’s kind of cloudy and overcast, even mist-like in the trees, with a dewy warmth in the air and a touch of a breeze, gently swaying the tips of the treetops above. The birds are a chirping, loudly and crazily with their chatter. Bird watchers would have a hay day here I’m thinking. Then, I view my surrounding with its hues of greens and woods against the white and red of the Canada flag gently flapping its maple leaf so proudly…yes Canada it is a day to celebrate you.
Oh yes, how can I forget! I am sitting here working on my laptop and I can hear the sounds of the lobster boats, echoing from the speed of their engines; lots of echoing. Why? It’s July 1st and Canada Day, the end of lobster season! How did I not remember! Celebration of another sort for some islanders. Now I understand the constant din of noise in the background as I blog away here. The fishermen are on a timeline and so the constant reverberation from the engines running, echoing up and around throughout the countryside and harbour, makes sense now. They is a urgency to go back and forth, skirting in circles around their buoys marking their trap areas, pulling up and out for the season. Lobster traps have to be out today. And they have lots to get out. Oh well boys, you’ll be taking a breather soon enough. Another ode to the lobster tale. Celebrate ya’ll.
Celebrations. I have many fond memories in childhood of Canada Day with my folks setting up our backyard with a space decked out with sand and dirt in its middle, for us to once again, experience the wondrous and beautiful array of fireworks ready for display out into the night. Oh I loved those times. Every year for as long as I can remember, we would do the same thing…sitting in camp chairs or on our picnic table far back from the danger awaiting. Marshmallow and hotdogs toasting away (never heard of s’mores…too bad) while we wait for the dusk of the evening to come so we could end this day in colour. Colour of fireworks. Oh I loved the choices of fireworks! Each one seemed to be better and more elaborate than the next, as one by one dad would put them in the ground, light them up, and magic would happen.
Boom. Hiss. Sparkle. Twinkle, Glitter. As little bits of sprinkled sparks flash and pop, high and wide, to eventually dim into nothingness. We would bet on which one would be the longest lasting or the highest pop, or the one with the most colourful array. Never disappointed. Of course, the piece de resistance was the school house at the end. Oh yes the burning down of the school…nothing glitter or sparkly about it but burning so brightly…reminding us that schools out, burn that puppy so to speak.(And I am became a teacher. Who would have thunk it? ). Well you get the picture. It’s summer. It’s Canada Day. Let’s celebrate. And we did. Finishing off we would get to whip around those long sparklers. Running and jumping around happily, the lit sparkler would spit its sparks out, shining its brilliant tiny splashes of lights, allowing us to draw out our names in the night sky. Oh those memories. Thank you.
But not today? Not even sure we can get fireworks even, as public gatherings are not encouraged. Funnily enough, I did not continue the fun of my own childhood into raising the girls. Sparklers. Yes. But the other…not so much. I think we began a new tradition of going to the town display down by the water for all to see. And who can beat the barge going out in the bay and providing such a wondrous and orchestrated bounty of awe and wonder to light the night sky. All around, you would see people, young and old, singles and families, and all in between, finding and setting up their little spot, arranged just so, facing the water, to be ready for the spectacular. Not only that, the various boats anchored out in the bay, settling in to the waters, while they too await the entertainment. And I have to say, worth it; even when we had to get back in the van, trying to find our way back home. We learned eventually to park way up on one of the back streets. Funny what you remember.
So Canada Day. Not to lessen the impact of the pandemic but I need to remind myself even in times of tragedy, we have a lived life to live too. Certainly those memories of old should not be left there, but to create new ones. It was important back then, why stop. That is my wondering. I think I am going to have to get back to revisiting some old memories, resurrecting them in a new way. Just having a conversation with my middle daughter about what Canada Day looks like for them and then looking at my youngest who lives with me…well I think I need to do some future planning because we have much to celebrate as Canadians. Starting today.
How to celebrate Canada Day? Hmmm. It’s a national pride I feel within me, a sense of being a proud Canadian but with a humbleness in all that I have been given. So celebrate. Goodness get to it, Karen. Hey google…what’s going on here on the island? Well, fireworks cancelled. Okay. But hang on, social media from Charlottetown is holding a virtual celebration of music, celebrity chefs, arts and crafts, comedy and contests, starting at 11 am. I guess I have a plan to plug in and start celebrating Canada Day. Woohoo.
Blessings to Canadians in celebration.
Let us pray for those in need and giving thanks to our wonderful country of Canada.
Karenpondering 