Proud to Be

 

Last night I went to see Glass Tiger.  My husband, a long time hater, was not interested at all.  But my good friends, 'Chelle, T-dot, and Ny-Ny (we come up with ridiculous nicknames when we drink!) were amped up and excited and that got me excited too.

It's Grape and Wine, a festival. We came in with our lawn chairs, wearing sweaters and Uggs.  We picked our spot, and made it our own.  We could see the stage, weren't too far from the washrooms, and had a direct line to the wine and the food. 

So, as we sat, and waited for Glass Tiger to take the stage, I began to look around.  I always people-watch, but sometimes, I slip into this state of observation where I am hyperly aware.  Just aware...of my state of being, of the people and environment around me, of the energy and the spirit and soul of the event.  It is so hard to describe, but I love when it happens, this little gift of knowledge that I can sometimes get.

I really, really want a sweater like this.

Last night, as I observed and watched and really "saw", I realized it was a moment about being Canadian.  This is canadiana at it's best.  September that feels like fall, smells of delicious food, wonderful music.  I watch small children, bundled against the cold, dancing on their mother's feet.  I watched people walk, and dance and hug and drink and smoke.  People with handmade sweaters, which amazing deer or wolves knitted into them.  People wearing toques and sandals at the same time.  The sight of the sun setting between the trees, the stage set up in a small park.  Everything, every little bit of it.
It's the feel of the cold at the tip of my nose, and how it feels to sit in my lawnchair, in a crowd.  It is the hearing the sounds of the voices around me, their laughter.  It is how safe and secure I felt, that sense in my gut, that I am home.  It's knowing that you belong. 

I am proud to be Canadian.  I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.  I am thrilled to raise my children as Canadians.  I love the cliches, that we are polite, and overly apologetic.  I love our music, some of my very favorite movies are Canadian, I love our country side, our food, our writing, our opportunities.

So, last night, I was a part of Canada.  Canada will always be a part of me.  I can't describe it.   But I am thrilled that it was there. 

Rosie N. Grey

The N stands for "our home and Native land".