‘o canada! our home and native land!
true patriot love in all thy sons command.
with glowing hearts we see thee rise,
the true north strong and free!
from far and wide, o canada,
we stand on guard for thee.
god keep our land glorious and free!
o canada, we stand on guard for thee.
o canada, we stand on guard for thee.
this song has become a great start to every great day at school for all my little ones. i have to admit that i get a tear in my eye every time i sing this song wether it’s first day at school, canada’s birthday – canada day, or at the end of the year dance show… i’m so grateful to be part of this wonderful, beautiful, open-minded, caring, great country, and i pinch myself on a regular basis, to make sure this is real!
today was a very special one to us as a family. today, five years ago, we put our feet on canadian ground – to stay for good – without a clue about what the future would bring.
i have to say we’ve been feeling very welcome from the very first day here, which obviously means a lot, when you just left all family and friends behind. it sure has been, and still is an adventure, and looking at our babies (who are not babies anymore) they are all definitely more canadian than anything else. they are all thriving here and are fully integrated.
for me it’s a little different – there’s been mostly good days, plenty of great adventures, lots of freedom and room for big thoughts, but there has also been days of missing and longing, brutal cold, and days of frustration about where i belong and how and where i want to spend my life. i don’t think this part will ever change. after 5 years it’s gets easier to handle though, and the tough days become more and more rare. i love our life here, and right now this is the perfect place for our family to be – who knows what happens in the future (or tomorrow), right?
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