LIFE UNLEASHED

Picture yourself dockside, glass of wine or beer in hand listening to the loons (large white and black water fowl with an unmistakably loud call) as you gaze over the glasslike surface of a pristine Canadian freshwater lake. The water laps lightly onto the rocks of the Canadian shield and maybe a few canoeists drift by in the distance barely making a line of ripple in the lake. THAT’s the Canadian dream… or rather, the reality of cottage life.

We spent a good couple of weeks at various cottages in Canada. Man, a dip in a freshwater lake is like nothing else. Yes, we love the ocean with it’s crystal clear water and white powder sands. But a freshwater lake has it’s own pleasures. You actually feel cleaner when emerging from a fresh water lake. There is no fear of large, many toothed, predators circling below you. To fish on a quiet fresh water lake can be a sport or a form of meditation. You do not gag and feel sick for three hours if you swallow a bit of lake water. It is as if the fresh water lake is both the cause of… and cure for hangovers. It is Canada. It is Bliss.

O’Canada, Our home and native land….Was it? Is it? We were about to find out!

It was so easy being in Canada. Knowing our way around and how to acquire the that things we needed is a major comfort. Yet, it felt a bit strange being able to speak the language of the place we were in. There were strange customs we had to relearn like how to drive on the right side of the road and how to sit on a couch and be fed information from a glowing box that told us stories of world happenings.. There were strange foods that we hadn’t tasted (in years) like the Tim Horton’s coffee, Swiss Chalet Chicken, veal sandwiches and buffalo style chicken wings. We were so far removed that we weren’t sure who the Prime Minister currently was. We had heard it was Harper. We had heard it wasn’t Harper. We heard it might be Harper but maybe not tomorrow.

You would think all this would make us feel like foreigners in our own country…but…but…there is nothing like the feeling of love and belonging you get from seeing your friends and family. Having them welcome you back. Having them cook you a meal and pour you a drink. Having them treat you as if you had never been gone at all. You can move away, you can go travelling, but you can always go home again.

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