HOW LUCKY WE ARE
Eighteen years ago, my cousin Helen and her husband Jozef came from Slovakia to spend three weeks with us here in Canada. We took them from our home in rural southern Ontario to the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia, through the Niagara Peninsula to Ottawa and back via Algonquin Park and Muskoka, making many stops along the way. We took many photos and labelled them all.
In her Christmas letter last year, Helen once again mentioned
what an unforgettable experience they had had, how often she looks at the photos and relives the trip. She has said the same thing in every letter she has written since 2000. I admire her ability to relive her trip just as if she were experiencing it again.
Among other wonders, Helen and Jozef could not believe, even after they dipped their feet in it, that the huge expanse of water we call Lake Huron was fresh, not salt water. The same was true of Lakes Erie and Ontario.
Helen still mentions various things that impressed her—the many Canadian flags flying in people’s yards, the fact that our yards were not completely fenced in, flags at half-mast to honour Prime Minister Trudeau who had just passed away, or that his portrait was draped in black in the Parliament Buildings. The Warwick community church supper at which about 600 were served in a basement seating 90 was another unforgettable occasion. Helen sends greetings to the many neighbours and relatives who welcomed them into their homes. One memory in particular amused us. By the end of the three weeks they felt they had seen all of Canada. That is, until we showed them on a map of Canada where we had travelled. What a surprise to see how little of this vast country they had actually seen! The area we covered in three weeks was as large as their whole country.
It was a real gift to us to see our country through the eyes of our appreciative guests. Mary Janes, Watford, Ont.