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Essay: My crush on Canada
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Every summer Donna Tranquada renews her crush on this northerly nation.
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By Donna Tranquada
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Tell us what you love about Canada on a special forums thread.
Like any affair of the heart, mine has had its moments over the years. In my youth, I admit, I was flippant and selfish and probably far too young to appreciate what we had together.
Frankly, I took it all for granted, never acknowledging what was right in front of me or how good it was. Oh, there were the times we met on a sandy beach or shared a hot summer sunset when I thought, This is going to work! But then, during winter -- always the winter -- we grew apart and I was miserable. "I need to get out!" I would grumble as the snow and the mercury fell. But then spring would arrive, and we would grow close once again, as the ice retreated and the first shoots emerged from the ground.
I was smitten
This pattern repeated itself for years: months of contentment followed by months of resentment, neither of us budging until a trip to Prince Edward Island one summer. Perhaps it was the red mud tidal pools filled with tiny crabs, or the gentle hills that rolled across the Island that softened my heart. I really don't know. But as I crossed the elegant Confederation Bridge to begin the long drive back to Ontario, I suddenly realized that despite the difficulties we had had in the past and the great distances between us, I was smitten.
There, I've said it. I was a 40-something woman who had developed a serious crush on Canada.
That feeling grew stronger over many vacations with my husband -- he's accepted he has a rival -- and our two sons. The more we travelled, the more we appreciated this beautiful country.
Pacific sunsets
In Alberta it was the pine-scented trails of Waterton Lakes, the imposing majesty of the Rockies and the big skies of the foothills. A summer later, my favourite photo of the boys was taken on Crescent Beach along the south shore of Nova Scotia, where they built sand castles as thick fog approached from the sea. Cape Breton wooed me with its rugged coastline and pilot whales that flirted with our sightseeing boat. The following year, Tofino on Vancouver Island captured my soul with its ancient rain forests, bald eagles and Pacific sunsets that set the waves on fire.
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