You know that feeling, on that rare occasion, when you are the only sober person at a party and you look around and think WTF is going on?! It’s a precarious balance of funny and concerning, right? Then, when the loud-mouthed, sauced-up funny man suggest bungee-jumping from the landing with a silk scarf, you face palm and think ‘it’ll never happen’. Next thing you know, Funny Man is face down on the floor and people are laughing and crying in (almost) equal measure.  

Well this is pretty much how the last week has felt. Poor little Britain has been through the wringer and I feel helpless to do anything (before you Facebook political aficionados start screaming about the power of the vote and hitting the campaign trail, yada, yada, might I inform you that I sacrificed hours upon hours of precious sleep to research this bloody thing and I still felt like my decision was uneducated).

With only 22 days left before BMM-Day, my anxiety levels are creeping up, assisted in no small part by Brexit.  I am well aware of the sensationalist nature of the world press, particularly certain UK news purveyors, but that doesn’t change the fact that we are moving our unit of loveliness to an unpredictable landscape.

This feeling is nothing but perpetuated today as we celebrate our last (Canadian) Canada Day (rest assured my beautiful Canuck friends, beavers, poutine and maple syrup will be celebrated annually, wherever we are in the world!)

Canada has a reputation for being a frozen land of apologetic, overly-polite ‘eh’-sayers, governed by ice hockey and overrun by beavers (not an entirely terrible manifesto, if you ask me!) but the Canada I know and love,with all my heart, is so much more:

• Admittedly, people are generally very polite. They (mostly) hold doors, exchange pleasantries and let me go ahead of them in queues if my man cubs are screaming like banshees in the stroller.
• My neighbourhood is a bustling, myriad of diversity and my friends come from all over the world.

Canadian’s favourite – curling…without a single Canadian

• They wave their flag and sing their national anthem with pride before every sporting event.
• On the subject of sport – every event is family-friendly (probably because away fans are few and far between, given the distance they would have to travel!)
• It is flipping hot in the summer
• Shops actually close on national holidays (apart from Shoppers Drugmart – it is deemed essential to be able to purchase toothpaste and vitamins 365)
• People actually come together to celebrate Canada Day
• They also trust a groundhog to predict the weather
• Coffee is a life source
• As are bagels
• And maple syrup
• (In my house anyway!)
• Their Prime Minister is clever, cool and very bendy (Google Trudeau+yoga)

So, for today, I am Canadian. I will drink Tim Horton’s coffee, put maple syrup on my bacon, apologise when someone bumps into me and wish strangers a happy Canada Day. Today, I will try and forget about my very own Brexit (British Maple Exit) and worry about any Bregrets tomorrow.

Happy Canada Day x