Oh Canada (long version 932 words my personal blog)

Oh, Canada..

“Why would I want to go anywhere else when we have everything we need right here in our own country?” Stated my mom matter of factly, and there was no changing her mind. I’m not sure if she secretly ever wanted to visit another country, but she wasn’t giving me the satisfaction of knowing this if she did.  We did do a lot of traveling between B.C. and Saskatchewan while I was growing up. I know for a fact she was in Seattle once when she was 8 months pregnant with me. There is the story of her successfully climbing over the boards at a hockey game, where my dad was hurt in another fight (which he was famous for starting). He played for the Vancouver canucks for a season I think.

I’ve lived in three western provinces, B.C. Saskatchewan and Alberta, although I loved B.C. and thought of it as God’s Country, there came a time in my life on the way back from a visit there, I realized in my heart that I’m a prairie girl through and through. I love the sun and the wide-open spaces of Saskatchewan. Sure, I loved the smell of the mountains and the ocean on the coast, but honestly, even though you don’t have to “shovel the rain” as my dad would say, it could get pretty depressing.  A fine mist of rain and no sun for forty days was enough to make me want to slit your wrists. I wish I were kidding, but I’m not.

Living in Alberta was a great adventure for the six or seven years we were there. I was just newly living together with my boyfriend/husband-to-be. We moved there for his job, Alberta was full of promises, and we were full of dreams, and we flourished. Reluctantly, we left our dreams there to start a new one back in Saskatchewan, going into partnership with my husband’s brother. This lasted barely a year before blowing up. Family connections and business don’t often mix.

We made our home, started a family, and staked out a piece of paradise at a lake only an hour and a half north of us. My family also participated in this adventure, and my kids had cousins by the dozens to play with at this lake. My mom and aunts, and uncles all built cabins, and they made our lives a better place while there. So many fond memories as one by one they left us to oversee us from that place above or below our plane of existence.

The fact is, our lake is only one of ten thousand lakes in Saskatchewan. Most reading this will be disbelieving because you may think our province is flat and we only grow wheat. We’re also known as the sunniest province in Canada, and that’s true and can be corroborated. I’m not going to bore you with how much Saskatchewan has to offer, not only for us but the world.

Being Canadian, we live in the best country in the world, another truth, Google it. I’ve been very fortunate to have traveled extensively in my old age. I used all my retirement savings to do so, but money cannot buy the memories I’ve made. Well, it did buy those memories 🙂 Some places were amazing, and others so dirt poor that I finally made a vow to avoid those, unless I could contribute something to help them.

My wish is that everyone can visit other countries, just because here we think we have a history in a two-hundred-year-old building. I stayed in a six-hundred-year-old bed and breakfast in Southampton, England. Everything is old there; we have barely scratched the surface here. In my journeys, I hardly witnessed as many single-dwelling homes as we have in Canada.

Of all the countries visited, I can honestly say that although interesting and exciting, I couldn’t live in any of them. Russia and Japan, China, Korea, Paris, Egypt, Colombia, Turkey, Indonesia, Portugal, and Morocco were all exciting to see. The Caribbean countries, the warm destination, sun and surf spots were all very nice, but not for living there year-round.

I have also been fortunate to have a place in Yuma, Arizona, to get away from the cold winter months here.

Now to the real purpose of my blog today. This past week has been almost unbearable with the highest record-breaking temps we have ever registered here in Saskatchewan, these are Yuma, Arizona temperatures in their summers, which are also unbearable. This is just too hot for me, and I’ve finally come to appreciate our weather in a way that I never fully realized before. Who can honestly say, “I love the weather here in Canada?” We not only take our health care for granted here, but complaining about the weather is our rite of passage. That stops today, right here and right now!

Oh Canada, I love you more than any other place on earth. We may not be a perfect country but damn close to it. Google it 🙂 I have snow boots and heated seats in my car. I can always bundle up if it is cold. But Lord, when I stripped my clothes off in this heat, I not only got a lot of frowns but I was still hot… and not in a good way! That was just on my patio…  Lord only knows what would have happened if I had ventured out?

41 celcius = 106 farenhieght

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July 2rd 2021