It’s October, which means it’s been a full month since I first tried to sit down and write a “back to school” or “third anniversary of the move” post (oops). Suffice to say, we’ve been kinda busy!
It also means that, besides getting costumes and carving pumpkins for Halloween, folks with dual Canadian/American identity are preparing for that time of year bookended by each nation’s Thanksgiving holiday. In Canada, the annual celebration of gratitude and gluttony marks the second Monday of October, whereas south of the border, it’s not until the fourth Thursday of November. So far, we’ve happily celebrated both each year…sometimes even travelling hundreds of kilometres to do so with loved ones. This year of course, like so many others, our feast will be nuclear family-sized, and our “gatherings” virtual.
Even without all the travels (and travails) of a typical Thanksgiving season, this year finds us with plenty on our minds regarding geography, family and friends, and as crazy as things are, just how much there is to appreciate. The kids are not only back in school but also enjoying socially distanced adventures in Beaver Scouts and Cub Scouts, and they’re exuberant to be with their buddies in person again. Everyone is making their own way through strange times, and I’m sure there are as many different approaches to that as there are households.
For us, our munchkins have been at the core of everything we do. They’re the primary reason we work so hard to balance safety with desires, and their energy and resiliency have been a constant source of inspiration even when mom and dad are exhausted. Our older and more vulnerable relatives are also in our thoughts of course, but for the time being we are safely, if frustratingly, separated by distance…which puts us in a difference situation than many of our neighbours.
The past couple of months have been packed with all kinds of experiences and emotions. Some of our friends and family have weathered illness or loss, while others are carefully preparing to welcome newborns. It was a summer of creativity for folks on both side of the border, playing a tenuous game of catchup with inconsistent federal, provincial, and state level public health recommendations while slowly coming out of “lockdown” and trying to enjoy the summer. Mostly we did a lot of hiking, biking, and enjoying the nearby Royal Botanical Gardens. We also drove through the zoo, and even managed to get out of town briefly up to Muskoka to have some socially distanced outdoor fun before school started.
Our household has sheltered in place three times now, eating out of our freezers and patiently awaiting test results (which all been negative, so far). We missed a full week of work and classes right after going back to school, just because of the usual exposure to colds and allergies. It was annoying, but an abundance of caution regarding questionable symptoms continues to feel like the right approach, especially looking at how Ontario is managing to depress its death rates and ICU utilization while second wave cases accelerate. Nobody can say for sure whether we’ll need to switch back to homeschooling at some point, but for the time being we have our fingers crossed.
It feels a bit unproductive to wax on about the political misadventures of both countries right now, it’s tiresome just to keep track of and there are far better resources for that than a personal blog. Suffice to say, we continue to feel humbled and grateful for our permanent resident status here, and for all the ways that OHIP and OHIP+ profoundly affect our own well being (and for one of us, her career). Health care on the “front lines” is stressful enough without constantly wondering whether your government is making your workplace unsafe or your patients may be bankrupted by your care.
Thanks to UPS international courier services and some dedicated friends back in Oregon, we’ve already managed to successfully vote. Whatever ongoing drama may surface regarding the U.S. Postal Service before election day, at least that’s taken care of. Here in Ontario, annoyed as we may be by the “progressive conservative” approaches to health care and public education taken by the current administration at Queens Park, we continue to wake up every day with gratitude for the lifestyle the province affords us. Canadians often become fatigued with the low bar of always having their society compared to the USA, especially by clickbaity news stories, and there’s a case to be made for much higher aspiration…but for a family like ours that specific contrast is an ongoing facet of daily life.
Speaking of daily life, the seasons changing this time of year bring some of my favourite weather patterns among the Great Lakes, and that’s been another kind of blessing altogether lately. September and October tend to transition from hot days perfect for swimming at the beach to cooling winds and occasionally spectacular rainstorms, with colour starting to explode from our primarily deciduous forests. The sparse evergreens that suddenly stand out from the turning leaves remind me of how much we love the Pacific northwest, and the strong morning winds which blend into temperate nights recall our time on Oahu (no HVAC required, you just adjust your windows throughout the day).
I’m not going to claim I never miss anywhere else we’ve been, but when you look at what’s happening to Portland because it dares to be one of the more progressive cities in the USA, or when you consider the isolation and expense involved in balancing island life with maintaining mainland family connections, I couldn’t possibly imagine myself happier anywhere other than where we are, right now.
Thank you friends and neighbours, thank you Burlington, and thank you Canada. Stay safe everyone.
This Ontarian Life 