Mathieu and I following my ceremony
"Marie-Soleil" and I following my Citizenship Ceremony
Mathieu, "Marie-Soleil" and I
There is a Chinese proverb that says, “We count our miseries carefully, but accept our blessings without much thought.” There are many days when I take note of the stresses in life. But today, on my first full day as a Canadian, I am gratefully aware of my blessings.
I am grateful to be a Canadian; An American-Canadian no less. I have to admit that even though I have been anxiously awaiting my Canadian Citizenship, I am surprised at how much it means to receive it. As I sat through my Citizenship Ceremony with 75 other candidates I knew that I did not experience the adversity, loss, uncertainty, or culture shock that some surely did on this journey. But still, I remembered leaving Idaho to join Mathieu in Ottawa eight years ago, and how different everything and everyone seemed to me then. Being an American in Canada has given me the gift of a perspective that I would have never had otherwise…on myself and my country.
I am grateful for the friends and family who make me proud of Canadians…. and for those back home who have unconditionally supported me being here. My mom is so excited and is probably telling everyone that I received some Royal Canadian Medal of Most Wonderfulness from my good friend the Prime Minister. I received great messages from Mathieu’s parents in Hearst and from friends throughout the day. And when Mathieu and I walked into the ceremony we found our friends Marc, Andrea and Isabelle already there. A few minutes later I heard someone say my name and turned to see Mathieu’s uncles Andre and Phil and his Aunt Pierrette behind me. I hadn’t thought that people would attend a ceremony on a Wednesday afternoon, so I had only told them the day of the ceremony and not where it was. They had spent the morning calling the entire Canadian government (including the Governor General’s residence) to find the location! As I repeated the Oath of Citizenship it went on about my future allegiance to the Queen and upholding the laws, but I was thinking instead of how lucky I am in this life to have come here to be with Mathieu, and to be part of this amazing family and to have made such great friends. It made the moment that much more special to have them there, and again later for celebratory drinks while I wielded around my Citizenship Certificate. (Note to liquor establishments: I do, however, think that a very Canadian thing to do would be to offer free beer to one who wields a shiny new Citizenship Certificate.)
I am also grateful that my cheering section causes a disturbance everywhere we go. The proctor (henceforth known as the bouncer) at the ceremony had to tell Aunt Pierrette to “settle down” when she was trying to get my attention. To disrupt things further the Citizenship Judge was a delightfully animated and personable woman named Suzanne Pinel, who it seems acquired some fame years ago as Marie-Soleil in a French-Canadian Children’s show. The entire photo line-up of new Canadians was disrupted for 10 minutes when it came to my turn because the judge started chatting with my French-Canadian family and friends! She joined us a few minutes later for an even longer discussion where I had my moment of glory explaining the pure beauty of the Idaho Potato to the former Marie-Soleil!! This drew further scrutiny from the bouncer who had previously scolded Aunt Pierrette! “I could tell you were trouble” she said to me as we were leaving, “when I saw your entourage.” Well, they might be trouble, but they look pretty good to me.
I am grateful for the friends and family who make me proud of Canadians…. and for those back home who have unconditionally supported me being here. My mom is so excited and is probably telling everyone that I received some Royal Canadian Medal of Most Wonderfulness from my good friend the Prime Minister. I received great messages from Mathieu’s parents in Hearst and from friends throughout the day. And when Mathieu and I walked into the ceremony we found our friends Marc, Andrea and Isabelle already there. A few minutes later I heard someone say my name and turned to see Mathieu’s uncles Andre and Phil and his Aunt Pierrette behind me. I hadn’t thought that people would attend a ceremony on a Wednesday afternoon, so I had only told them the day of the ceremony and not where it was. They had spent the morning calling the entire Canadian government (including the Governor General’s residence) to find the location! As I repeated the Oath of Citizenship it went on about my future allegiance to the Queen and upholding the laws, but I was thinking instead of how lucky I am in this life to have come here to be with Mathieu, and to be part of this amazing family and to have made such great friends. It made the moment that much more special to have them there, and again later for celebratory drinks while I wielded around my Citizenship Certificate. (Note to liquor establishments: I do, however, think that a very Canadian thing to do would be to offer free beer to one who wields a shiny new Citizenship Certificate.)
I am also grateful that my cheering section causes a disturbance everywhere we go. The proctor (henceforth known as the bouncer) at the ceremony had to tell Aunt Pierrette to “settle down” when she was trying to get my attention. To disrupt things further the Citizenship Judge was a delightfully animated and personable woman named Suzanne Pinel, who it seems acquired some fame years ago as Marie-Soleil in a French-Canadian Children’s show. The entire photo line-up of new Canadians was disrupted for 10 minutes when it came to my turn because the judge started chatting with my French-Canadian family and friends! She joined us a few minutes later for an even longer discussion where I had my moment of glory explaining the pure beauty of the Idaho Potato to the former Marie-Soleil!! This drew further scrutiny from the bouncer who had previously scolded Aunt Pierrette! “I could tell you were trouble” she said to me as we were leaving, “when I saw your entourage.” Well, they might be trouble, but they look pretty good to me.
