The Ontario countryside is one of beauty. Our Toronto and Ottawa facilitator, Jeff, and I made our way out of the downtown city grips to the beauty of rural Ontario.
Ontario is where my other family is from and many of them still live there, so I definitely have a soft spot for it. There is something about rural Canada that I love. I grew up on a farm and it takes hard work and dedication to do it. Farmers are Canada’s backbone.
As we were getting closer to Ottawa, the destruction of the recent flooding in the area was very clear and the potential for it to get worse was very real. There were lakes and rivers flowing close to the highways, lake houses immersed in the lake, and farmer’s fields with pockets of pools on them. It was devastating and hard to see how much mother nature can impact so many people.
The drive into Ottawa was beautiful – our national capital. The old buildings, the cobblestone streets, the history, and the architecture never ceases to amaze me. As Canada celebrates 150 years of confederation, I would say let’s be proud of where we live, be patriotic, get out and see our country – it’s awe-inspiring, it’s rich in multiculturalism, it’s diverse in its people, it’s rich in history, and it is one of great beauty. From “Sea to Shining Sea”. Let us celebrate our freedom to be who we are and for others to be who they are.
My other thought on Ottawa is undeniably the fact that the Ottawa Senators have made it to the Eastern Division finals. I am a diehard Oilers fan, but hey, I’ll go for the Sens. What I am trying to say in this blog though is that we DO live in the greatest country on earth. We have the politest people, hockey runs through our veins, we smile at one another on the streets, but most of all, I do think that we have each other’s backs. Every day I get to see neighbours helping neighbours. Canadians helping Canadians. It’s what we do.
There are no limits to what we do for one another and what we can accomplish together. There should be no East and West, but rather “our Country”. It is whole and it is beautiful. Each province is unique, each province offers something different, and each province makes it what it is. Happy 150th Canada!
